Countdown to Christmas
by Lady Moon-Chan
Summary: 25 oneshots. Various pairings. All Christmas related. Ho ho ho. Rating to be safe.
1. HeixEd: Christmas Traditions

**Countdown to Christmas**

**Lady Moon-Chan**

**AN: Christmas fanfic challenge. Challenge can be found at FOS fanfiction(url: w ww. fos-ff. net, just delete the spaces). The challenge called for "25 one-shots, any anime, any pairings", so, lacking any real stories in the FullMetal Alchemist section(which isn't right, considering it's my all-time favorite anime), I decided to make this a FullMetal Alchemist book o' one-shots. Sigh. Merry Christmas, people. Feliz Navidad! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Kwanzaa! Happy Hanuchristmakwanzaa!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own FullMetal Alchemist, and I certainly don't own Christmas. I do, however, own the ideas for these one-shots. Except this first one. The idea for this came from hunting through my basement looking for those little to and from labels you put on presents and wondering what Ed's reaction would be, when he crossed the gate to our world, to the Christmas holiday.**

**Warnings: Language(for the one-shots Ed is featured in), yaoi**

**Rating: PG-13**

**Christmas Traditions: HeixEd**

"Hey, Alfons."

The pale-blonde looked up from the notes he'd been writing(while muttering under his breath in German to himself). "Yes, Edward?"

The golden son of Hohenheim gestured at the snowy world outside the window of their apartment. "What's all that activity about?"

Alfons Heiderich faceplanted. When he picked himself up off the floor, he asked, "You really do live in outer space half the time, don't you, Edward? It's Christmas!"

Edward merely gave Alfons a blank look from behind his slim gold reading glasses.

Alfons's eyebrows rose. "You've never heard of Christmas?"

Edward shook his head. "What's it about?"

Alfons sighed. "It's a religious holiday, to celebrate the birth of the Christian messiah, Jesus Christ. And, somehow, the children's tale of St. Nicholas became part of it, too."

"St. Nicholas?" Ed asked, looking confused.

"The story is that St. Nicholas was a toymaker who gave such joy to the children in the town he lived in that he was given a mantle of immortality, so that he could continue to deliver presents, and with the help of the flying reindeer he was lent every year on December 24, he could deliver his toys to children all over the world."

"That _is_ a child's tale. You don't still believe, do you?"

Alfons shook his head. "I learned a long time ago that it was my parents putting presents under the tree and saying they were from St. Nicholas." He came to sit by Edward in the wide windowsill, dangling one leg over the ledge and folding the other up to himself so that his chin rested on his knee. "But I guess it gives them some kind of comfort to believe."

"So who would one by Christmas presents for?" Ed asked.

It took Alfons all he had not to smile. When Edward talked like he had just then, it was a sure sign he was planning to do something pertaining to his question. "Well, Christmas is the season to be with family and friends, so I guess that would be who you'd give presents to."

"So I'd only have to buy a present for you then." Edward said, more to himself than to Alfons.

"Hmm? Why only me?"

"It'd be extremely awkward if I tried to send my father a present, considering the relationship we have, I don't know how to get a present to my brother, and as for friends...you're the only one a present could reach." He stood up and stretched. "I'm going out for a bit. We need anything from the market?"

Alfons shook his head.

Edward gave him a sad half-smile, put on his coat and left.

Alfons waited about four hours, then got up, put on his coat, and went out to look for Ed. He found the boy passing under a bridge(the pond had frozen, preventing the water from rising and filling the concrete shelter beneath the bridge[1), as a shortcut back to their apartment.

"Hey, Alfons. You didn't have to come out. I was on my way back."

Hiederich resisted the urge to bash his head against one of the nearby bridge supports, telling himself if he did, the bridge could break, and he'd have to pay a hefty fine when he could barely cover the rent and utilities from month to month. Edward may have been a genius, but he could be so dense sometimes[2! "Edward," he said. "You've been out _four_ hours for _one_ present. Anyone in their right minds would get worried and come looking for you."

Edward scowled. "Yeah, well. I couldn't decide what to get you, okay?"

Alfons's eyes widened. "Sorry, Ed."

Edward still looked angry, but then the anger turned to confusion as he stared at a spot over Alfons's head. "Hey, Alfons. What's that?" he pointed.

Heiderich turned, and gulped when he saw the familiar green-and-white sprig someone had tied to the supports of the bridge with red ribbon.

Edward poked him. "Oi, I asked you a question."

That meant he'd taken too long a pause for Edward's liking. "That Edward," he said, and he was proud of himself for making his voice so steady, "is mistletoe."

"Mistletoe?" Edward asked.

"It's another Christmas tradition. When two people meet under the mistletoe, they're supposed to kiss." He couldn't help blushing as he said the last words.

"Kiss, huh?" Edward said. "Well, best not to mess with tradition."

And since they were, in all technicality, under the mistletoe, Edward leaned up slightly and gave Alfons a kiss.

And the two were sheltered from the view of onlookers by the swirling snow.

**AN: Ah! It is finished! My first FMA yaoi. I'm proud of it, too. It came out well. I think I want to write more Hiederich sometime. He really is kawaii, though not so much as Al or Ion-kun. Oh**

**[1 I'm not sure if there's a place in Munich like this. All I know is that I was basing it off the bridge and pond in my grandma's old development.**

**[2 This is my dad. According to family lore, in the first years of his marriage to my mom, whenever she sent him to the kitchen to get the milk out of the refrigerator, he'd look around like "Where's the fridge?" And he could make a computer do anything he wanted it to with barely any effort. He's a dumb genius, just like Ed!**


	2. EdWin: Hot Cocoa in the Snow

**Countdown to Christmas**

**Lady Moon-Chan**

**AN: A het chapter to Countdown to Christmas, featuring EdxWin. Happy holidays.**

**All warnings and disclaimers(except the yaoi bit) remain the same this chapter. The rating is still the same. R&R, please!**

**EdWin: Hot Cocoa in the Snow**

"Alphonse, where's your brother?" Pinako asked. "I haven't seen him around for awhile, and he's not short enough to be completely invisible."

Alphonse opened the porch door and pointed to the silhouette of Edward Elric, leaned against a burnt tree that marked where the Elric house had once stood, just barely discernible in the winter twilight.

"Why aren't you out there with him, Al?" Winry asked.

"He specifically told me not to come with him." Al sighed. Then, an idea seemed to come to him. "Hey Winry, why don't _you_ go check on him? You're probably the only one he'll talk to about now."

"Why me?" Winry asked, cheeks going cherry red.

"Because if I went and asked him what was wrong, he'd try to play the strong older brother and tell me not to worry, nothing was wrong. But he'll open up to you."

"What makes you think that?" Winry asked. "He's closer to you than me."

"He told _you_ what he was worried about after Lab 5, didn't he?" Al asked. "Go on."

Winry sighed. "Once again, your flawless logic has left me no way out. Fine. I guess I'll bring out some cocoa while I'm at it."

After she had left the house, Al turned to Granny Pinako. "You really think this will work?"

"Worth a shot, isn't it?" the old woman asked.

Al nodded.

"Hey, Ed?" Winry called softly as she approached the alchemical genius.

"Hey, Winry." he said softly, glancing at her briefly before returning his gaze to the emerging stars. And Winry couldn't be sure, but she thought she saw tear tracks on his face.

"Ed, what's wrong? We're worried about you." she said softly, touching his flesh arm with a gloved hand.

"Nothing life-threatening." Ed replied. "I just miss her more than ever around this time of year. That's all." he wiped his eyes.

"I understand." Winry said. "Celebrating Christmas without Mom and Dad is the hardest thing in the world for me. I wind up crying a lot this time of year." Then, changing the subject, she said, "I brought out some hot cocoa." she produced two steaming thermoses from inside her coat. "I hear it's better when you drink it out in the snow."

Ed uncapped his thermos and sipped at the cocoa. "Thanks, Winry." He smiled at her. It didn't quite reach his eyes.

She shook her head, smiling also.

The two old friends enjoyed their cocoa in silence, and when the last drop was gone, Ed turned to Winry.

"Hey Winry?"

"Yeah?"

He leaned in and kissed her. "Merry Christmas."

After he walked away, Winry put a hand to her lips. "Y-yeah. Merry Christmas."

Inside, Al glanced up from the book he was reading when Ed came in. "You took a long time, Brother. I was worried."

"Sorry, Al. I guess I kinda lost track of the time." Ed ruffled his little brother's hair. "Merry Christmas." he headed upstairs to go to bed.

After he'd left the room, Al smiled softly. "Merry Christmas, Brother."

**AN: Aww. EdWin fluff and brotherly love all in one one-shot. But I noticed that both this and Christmas Traditions have an undercurrent of angst. I wonder of that's unavoidable when dealing with FMA? Probably so, I mean, only the minor characters don't seem to have angst in their pasts. Well, except the Tringham brothers. Anyway, it's the season of giving, and I will be the happiest author in the world if you would give me a review! Ja minna-san!**


	3. Royai: Golden Ring

**Countdown to Christmas**

**Lady Moon-Chan**

**AN: This is the Royai chapter of CtC. The warnings, you ask? Ed's temper, Al loses his patience somewhat with Mustang, and the Tringham brothers are durn confused. Oh, and language The rating remains PG-13, and as always, I don't own FullMetal Alchemist or Christmas. Read, enjoy, and review!**

**Royai: Golden Ring**

Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist, Hero of the Ishbal Rebellion, did not get nervous. He was stoic, calm and calculating at all times, and especially smooth with women. So why was the thought of tonight's plan for one Ms. Riza Hawkeye making him quake in his boots? It wasn't crude or offensive enough for her to pull out her pistols and shoot him, that was for damn sure. Al had threatened to sic Ed's mechanic on him if he did anything to mess this up for himself. And Roy was a fairly smart guy, so, having seen Winry angry on a few occasions and not wishing to be on the receiving end of a flying wrench, he obeyed.

He fingered the tiny blue box in his pocket, watching her from a corner as she mingled with the other attendees of the Officers' Christmas Ball. She wore a long black skirt with a slit that went from the hem to her knee, black stockings, black boots, and a soft-looking pale blue sweater, and Roy could honestly say he'd never seen a woman look so good, despite what he told the meaningless dates he took out most nights of the week. He sighed, not knowing he was being watched by a group of conniving blondes.

"All that hard work wasted." Sighed a cornsilk blonde girl with big blue eyes.

"Tell me about it." sighed a lemon blonde, raking a hand through his bangs. "We give our valuable time to help him come up with a plan to get Hawkeye, and the bastard doesn't have enough balls to go through with it."

"He better have the balls," grumbled a golden blonde. "I helped pay for the goddamn ring. Not cheap."

The lemon blonde raised an eyebrow. "Ever hear of Ebenezer Scrooge, Edward?"

The boy known as Edward snarled. "I don't want to hear that from you, Mr. Too-broke-to-buy-presents-for-anyone-but-us."

While the blonde girl and two other pale blondes tried to break up the rapidly developing fight, a boy with a dirty blonde ponytail and big brown eyes left the group and sidled up to Roy. "Is there a reason you're not making any moves on Hawkeye outside of raping her with your eyes from some secluded corner like a closet pervert?"

Roy jumped a mile, then scowled at the boy. "I don't want to hear it, Alphonse. _You_ still get red in the face when talking to girls."

"At least I don't tackle them into bed after the first hellos." the boy called Alphonse muttered.

Roy gave him a strange look then said, "If you must know, I'm nervous. She's not the kind of woman who'd fall for a handsome face and a few pretty words."

"Good. Because you happen to be head-over-heels-in love." Alphonse said, patting Roy on the back.

"That's not the point! What if she doesn't feel the same way? What if she's got a boyfriend? Hell, what if she's already engaged? What if-" but this time Alphonse cut him off.

"Look, taisa. You can't always analyze situations before you enter them. Sometimes you just have to jump in headlong, not knowing the outcome. It's not a bad thing, nor is it a sign of weakness. It's just the way us insignificant little people have to live." he grinned. "So, stop trying to put the circle into the square and give her the ring and see what happens."

Roy looked alarmed. "Now?"

Alphonse face palmed. "Of _course_, now! When do you think? Next Christmas?"

"I had hoped..." Roy muttered, then gulped, once more staring at Hawkeye.

Alphonse sighed. "I really hoped it wouldn't come to this. Just remember every time you try to incinerate me for this in the New Year that I gave you a chance to act for yourself." then he did the worst thing imaginable. Well, for Roy at least. He called Hawkeye over.

"Ms. Hawkeye! Over here!" he waved to her. Hawkeye smiled and headed over. Roy glanced to his right and left, meeting golden eyes to his right and royal blue ones to his left. Alphonse was now standing directly in front of him, and his back was to the wall. He sighed. He'd have to face her. As if Alphonse would let him do anything else.

"Hello, Alphonse." Hawkeye greeted with a smile. "Taisa." she greeted Roy, nodding with a warmth in her eyes. Roy was mesmerized by the way the low lighting reflected off her blonde hair, making it seem like a golden halo around her face, an effect that hadn't been visible from a distance. He gulped, suddenly finding his mouth very dry.

"Hello, Riza." He managed to say, and was a bit proud of how well he'd kept his voice modulated.

She nodded, then asked Alphonse, "Did you need something?"

Alphonse grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "Well, not me. But-" he lowered his voice to a still very audible stage whisper. "Taisa's been wanting to ask you something for a long time now." He smiled at her, then, peering into the crowd, said, "Oh, I think I see Ed waving me over. I've got to go now, bye." And he disappeared into the crowd.

"That little rat." Roy muttered.

"Sir?" Hawkeye asked. "Alphonse said you had something to ask me?"

"Yes." he sighed. He'd never live it down if he didn't do this now. He handed her the blue box.

She opened it and gasped. "Oh Roy," she whispered. For in the box, on a bed of dark blue velvet, sat a golden ring with a single, perfectly cut diamond affixed to it. She raised her eyes. "Does this mean what I think it means?"

He gulped again. His mouth felt drier than a desert. "Depends on what you think it means."

"Well," she said shyly, averting her eyes. "Typically when a man gives a woman a ring like this, it means he's asking her to marry him."

He blushed, scratching the back of his head. "That'd be what it means."

She looked shocked, but happy. "You mean this?" she gestured with the ring box.

He nodded, then summoned up all his courage and leaned the few inches separating them, kissing her.

When they finished, she raised an eyebrow. "Was there mistletoe over our heads, or did that come with the ring?"

He smiled. "It came with the ring."

They began to dance to a slow song, and the group of blondes watched them again.

"Thank God." muttered the blonde who'd compared Edward to Ebenezer Scrooge.

"Thank Al." said Edward.

Alphonse took a sip of punch to hide his grin.

"I don't care who gets the credit. I'm just glad all's well that ends well." the girl said fervently, before Edward dragged her onto the dance floor.

"Edward Elric, what do you think you're doing?" she cried indignantly.

"Well, Winry Rockbell, I think I'm dancing with my girlfriend!" Ed returned in the same tone Winry had used.

Everyone within earshot laughed.

**AN: Okay, now that I've proved to myself that it's possible to write the main characters and not have angst in there, I'll aim to do it again. And huh, I guess this is connected to Hot Cocoa somewhat, huh? Anyway, review please. Ja! O **


	4. Royed: Fiery Angels in the Snow

**Countdown to Christmas**

**Lady Moon-Chan**

**AN: And here we have a RoyxEd chapter. My first RoyxEd. Title sucks, but I don't think the story does. If it does, don't laugh. Please, give me that.**

**Remember my blather about ratings and warnings last chapter? It all still applies, with a yaoi warning added in there.**

**And I still don't own anything. **

**R&R, minna-san!**

**RoyxEd: Fiery Angels in the Snow**

Roy didn't have anything in particular against the Christmas holiday, or any other winter holidays for that matter. No, it was the goddamn snow that inspired his hatred and aroused his fury. It was wet, and it was cold! The combination from hell! At least it's not on the sidewalks, Roy reflected from his dry, warm, 100 snow-free office.

Then he heard the characteristic stomping of the FullMetal Alchemist, Edward Elric, who, was no longer such a bean after a growth spurt over in the machine world.

Edward slammed open the door, as usual, greeted him with a loud "Hey, Colonel Bastard!"("That's _General_ Bastard to you, FullMetal." he always replied.), also as usual, and when Alphonse excused himself to go talk with Roy's subordinates, Edward sat in front of Roy on the desk and smirked cattily.

"So, Roy," he said, and that tone could only be classified as a dark purr, "what are you getting me for Christmas?"

Roy smirked, nudging Edward off the papers he'd been skimming through. "I thought I'd surprise you this year, Ed."

Edward pouted and playfully punched Roy in the shoulder with his left hand. "Damn you. You know I hate surprises."

"Which is why I love to torture you with them, love." he said, and kissed Edward soundly.

For Roy Mustang and Edward Elric had been secretly going out since after Edward returned from the machine world. It had started innocently enough, with Edward simply coming to Roy to talk about the nightmares he sometimes had, wartime horrors he didn't want to tell his little brother existed. Then, somewhere along the way, the relationship changed, and now they are lovers.

"That's not going to stop me from trying to find out." Edward said.

"I'm aware of that. That was why I had decided to distract you until Christmas Day." Roy said, lowering Edward onto the desk and tugging out his braid so that his hair formed a golden cloud around his face. "I'd say you look angelic like that if I didn't know better." Roy teased, and Edward grinned.

"I'm aware of that." he said in a decent imitation.

Roy rolled his eyes. "Just for that, I'm showing no mercy."

On Christmas Day, Roy woke up to someone or something bouncing on his midsection.

"Which one of you is it now?" he asked sleepily. Since they had been homeless upon their return from the machine world, Roy had allowed the Elrics and Alfons Heiderich, who could have been Alphonse's double, to live with him in his much too large house, and ever since they had started a tradition of taking turns to wake him up on important occasions by bouncing on his stomach(or doing a running cannonball onto the bed, in Heiderich's case). He felt the bouncing stop, and then there was a touch as cold as ice but not nearly as wet feeling.

He jerked awake. Edward was straddling his hips, grinning like a madman. "Morning, Roy." He greeted.

"It better be, or your ass is grass, Elric."

"Not my fault. Al made me do it. He wanted to know what you wanted for breakfast."

"Hmm. I think I'll have you." Roy said, dragging Edward downwards so that they were laying side-by-side and kissing him deeply.

"Ah!"

Urk!"

The two sounds came from the doorway. When Edward and Roy looked, they saw the Als hurrying away.

"Well, now that we've sufficiently scarred the clean minds in the house for life, how do you feel about getting up?" Edward asked, leaning his chin on his left arm and staring down at Roy from this new position.

"I'm up." Roy said, sitting up.

As they sat in the dining room, Roy watched as a truck pulled up and left something at the end of the walk. "Who's getting it?" he asked.

"It's probably for you." Heiderich said. "After all, from a legal standpoint, you live by yourself."

"And there'd be questions if three different guys who aren't even known to be living with you in the public eye continually went out to get your mail." Alphonse said, nibbling his toast.

"Wouldn't be very good for your campaign as Fuhrer, that's for damn sure." Edward said, grinning over his coffee at Roy.

"Fine. As usual, the three of you have logic-cked me into doing something I have no interest in doing." Roy said, getting up and leaving. After he was gone, Edward grinned at his brother and his brother's double. "Sorry, you two. Unavoidable business."

Alphonse nodded.

Edward left.

"You're in on this, aren't you?" Heiderich asked.

Alphonse grinned. "Maybe."

Heiderich sighed and shook his head, taking another sip of coffee.

Roy had found that the package contained a note in Edward's handwriting that said 'gotcha'. As he turned around to go back in, he got hit in the face with a snowball.

When he wiped the evil snow off his face, he saw Edward standing there, one arm full of snowballs, the other ready to fire at will.

"Ed, I don't want a snowball fight." Roy said.

Edward smiled. "That's good. Because I was picturing more of a snowball slaughter fest!" he launched his projectiles at Roy as fast as he could, then, when he ran out of snowballs, tackled Roy into the evil wet white stuff. The two scuffled for a bit, before Edward finally came out on top(literally). And Roy decided snow might not be so bad, despite its wetness and coldness.

After all, scuffling in it had made his Edward's cheeks go rosy, his eyes brighten, and his smile grow warm and contented. Additionally, there were snowflakes in his hair, and the white and gold made him look like some kind of Christmas angel.

"Awww." Alphonse cooed, watching his brother and Roy in the snow(don't worry, they're just laying there smiling at each other, and Roy hugged Ed). "They look like angels."

"Fiery angels on a snowy background," Heiderich agreed,watching with a soft smile on his lips.

**AN: A teeny-tiny bit of angst, but ah well. It was mostly pointless fluff. Review please!**


	5. HavxShes: Company for Christmas

**Countdown to Christmas**

**Lady Moon-Chan**

**AN: ****Le sigh. Even with all my pleading, Arakawa-sensei still won't sell me FMA for Christmas. Anyway, this is a special chapter, dedicated to anyone out there who doesn't have anyone to spend Christmas with.**

**Rating: PG-13**

**Warning: language**

**Pairing: HavocxScieska**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hagaren, no matter how much I'd love too, nor do I own Christmas. sigh.**

**HavocxScieska: Companionship for Christmas**

Havoc sighed and lit up another cigarette.

"Geez, Havoc, what's up with you? I've known you to get depressed this time year, but this is going way overboard." Edward Elric, the FullMetal Alchemist, said, leaning on Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc's desk.

"What are you talking about, chief? I feel fine." he lied. Then the cigarette was snatched out of his mouth by Edward's younger brother, Alphonse, who went by the nickname Soul Alchemist, and dashed out in an ashtray.

"Don't lie, Havoc." Alphonse chided. "There's definitely something bothering you. Normally you barely get through half a pack a day, but in the last couple of days, you've started smoking like a chimney. So what's wrong?"

Havoc glanced around his very public workspace, then said, "Not here, huh? The other guys will make my life miserable if they find out. And they will too, the nosy bastards."

Edward sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine. Step into my office."

Once they were all in Ed's office, Ed gestured to a chair in front of his desk. "Come, sit, tell all." he said simply.

Havoc sat and sighed again, feeling the beginning of a brilliant migraine coming on. He thought thoughts about aspirin. "I guess I'm just sort-of depressed is all. I don't have enough money to go see my family this year, and they don't have enough money to pay the way for me, so I'm stranded in Central for Christmas." he glanced at Al out of the corner of his eye. "And don't even think of loaning me the money. The way I get paid and the way taxes are rising to cover all the cleanup projects Mustang is implementing, I'd be _dead_ before I could save up the money to pay you back."

"Well, there's one idea out the window." Al said, knowing full well Havoc would die before just taking the money.

Ed grinned. "Luckily for you, Havoc, I think I have a solution. I know a girl here in Central who's in the same boat as you. Maybe she'd agree to shack up with you for Christmas."

"You sure she wouldn't end up on Mustang's arm at the parties if she did?" Havoc asked.

"Hawkeye would turn him into Swiss cheese if he tried anything, you know that." Al said.

"Yeah, I know that. I was more worried about _her_. I seem to get left in the dust once the ladies meet Taisa."

"She doesn't like him that much. The side of him she saw after Hughes died pretty much quashed any feelings she might have had for him." Ed said, looking out the window, but seeming to look everywhere and nowhere else at the same time. Al touched his arm lightly, snapping him out of it.

"Alright. What does she look like?"

"She's not bad looking, she just doesn't put much effort into her appearance, usually I mean. When she has to dress up for something, she cleans up really nicely." Al said.

"That doesn't really answer the question., little chief." Havoc said.

"Short brown hair, pretty green eyes. Glasses, usually wears jeans and a sweater and loafers." Ed said, as though he were reading of an all-points bulletin for the girl's arrest.

"What kind of glasses? Does she have contact lenses[1?" Havoc asked.

"The thick, heavy kind." Al said. "And I'm sure she does."

Havoc seemed to consider this, then said. "Alright, I'll meet her."

"Hey, Scieska!" Al caroled as he and Ed entered Scieska's modest apartment.

"Hi, guys. What's up?" Scieska asked.

Ed sat a picture of Havoc on the table and slid it toward Scieska. "The second lieutenant?" she asked. At Ed's nod, she said, "Oh, good. I like him. He's very laid back, isn't he?"

"You have no idea." Al said with an evil grin.

"Remind me again how someone so sweet and innocent looking can be so evil on the inside." Scieska said dryly, as she puttered around her kitchenette preparing dinner.

Al merely grinned.

"Ray-yaaa." Scieska whined, "don't do this to me! You're supposed to be my best friend!"

Raya shook her head, sending her jet-black bangs whipping across her face. "What is it with you and getting dressed up? Come on, Shes, it won't kill you. Don't you want to make a good impression on the second lieutenant?"

"Well, yeah..." Scieska said.

"Alright then!" Raya cheered, sitting Scieska in a chair and placing a black cloak across her front. "First off, the hair." She took out spray-in conditioners, detanglers, and some anti-frizz solution. When she was finished, the frizzy bunches were gone from the bottom of Scieska's hair and it fell into a cute inward wave at her jaw line.

Next, Raya took Scieska's glasses and made her put in contact lenses, and for make-up, she gave Scieska some rose-pink lip gloss, a bubblegum pink blush, and some white eyeshadow, to accent the deep emerald green of Scieska's eyes.

Then Raya dressed Scieska in a pair of velvety feeling pants, a fancy red-and-black top with swirl designs and artfully trimmed sleeves and bottom, with a matching red 2-in-1 choker and hanging teardrop necklace.

Raya stepped back to admire her work and nodded in satisfaction. "Wonderful. And, for the piece de resistance..." she plucked a deep red rose from a nearby flower arrangement and stuck the blossom behind Scieska's ear. Then she clapped her hands twice. "Perfect!" she cheered.

Scieska blushed, and Raya grinned, going to answer the knock on the door.

"Got him?" she inquired of the Elric brothers, who stood on the other side with a very nervous looking Jean Havoc.

"What do you think?" Ed asked, jerking his thumb at Havoc.

Raya rolled her eyes and admitted Havoc, whose jaw proceeded to drop to the floor at the sight of Scieska. Then she stepped out and left with Ed and Al.

"Well, uh, do you want something to eat? Dinner's almost ready." Scieska offered.

"Sue. It smells great by the way." Havoc said, handing her the white rose Ed had plucked off a random rosebush for the occasion.

She smiled. "Thanks. That's sweet of you."

When the two sat down to eat, Havoc cut into his meat and put the morsel in his mouth. "Wow! This is delicious! Where did you learn to cook like this?"

Scieska blushed and smiled sheepishly. "I learned out of necessity. First because my mom couldn't boil water without burning it and I was sick of ordering in from restaurants, then later because Mom was sick and wouldn't have been able to cook even if she could."

"Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to drudge up bad memories." he looked down.

"Don't worry about it. I don't mind talking about it at all." she changed the subject. "Ed and Al said you couldn't make it out to be with your family on Christmas, so would you like to have Christmas dinner with my mother and I? We'd have to go to the hospital to eat with her, but...it'd be better than being alone, right?"

"I...uh...thanks. I'd like that a lot. you're right. That sounds much better than spending Christmas Day all by myself." Havoc said.

The dinner went on pleasantly, and they continued to meet up all though December, until finally Christmas Day arrived.

"Come on, Jean, don't be nervous." Scieska laughed. "It's just my mother. She's not going to bite you."

"You say that now..." Havoc muttered.

Scieska punched him playfully in the arm. "What's your problem? She's a sweet lady. You don't have to be scared of her."

"Oh, it's not her. There's a nurse who works here that I used to date. And well, let's just say things didn't end so well between us."

"She left you for Mustang, and when he left her she tried to come crawling back to your arms, right?"

"Yeah- wait! How did you know!?"

She smiled. "Ed and Al also told me about what usually happens to your girlfriends."

"Those little bastards!" Havoc shouted. "They are so dead when they get back from Resembool!"

"Hey, easy," Scieska said. "If it weren't for those two, we wouldn't have given this a try. And we'd both have been virtually alone this Christmas."

"That's true." Havoc stroked the back of Scieska's hand through his glove. "We owe them a lot."

She nodded, then smirked and said, "So, about this nurse. I propose that whenever we pass her in the halls, we get all kiss-kissy, smoochy-smoochy."

Havoc grinned. "An excellent plan, my dear."

"Hey Scieska," he said seriously a moment later.

"Huh?"

"Thanks. You gave me an invaluable gift this Christmas."

"What's that?"

"Happiness."

And the two shared a sweet kiss as the snow began to gently fall.

**AN: Whew! All done! Wasn't that just so warm and fuzzy? I think this is my favorite. Wait, no scratch that. The Elricest one is gonna be my favorite. But this will come in a close second, seriously. You know the drill. Review begets chapter. So, please? Review?**


	6. AlxOC: Under the Mistletoe

**Countdown to Christmas**

**Lady Moon-Chan**

**AN: Witness as my procrastinating ass races to get this done ASAP. Anyway, this is an encounter under the mistletoe between Al and my OC Raya, the "Silverblade Alchemist". Y'all know the drill by now, so I'll let you read.**

**AlxOC: Under the Mistletoe**

Al blew a bang out of his face as he waited patiently for Ed to come out of General Mustang's office, even though he wanted nothing more than to drag his brother out of there so that they could continue with their Christmas. As you lovely readers can probably tell, he's a bit annoyed with the general for calling his brother into the office on Christmas Day.

"Hey, Al. What are you still doing here?" asked Al's crush of the last several months, Raya Mihara, who'd recently been certified as the "Silverblade Alchemist".

Al fought down an instinctive blush and replied as neutrally as he could, "The General isn't finished talking with Brother yet, that's all."

"Oh, that jerk-off. Can you believe he had the nerve to call us all out to the office on Christmas Day just because he didn't finish his paperwork by the deadline Hawkeye set? Unlike him, some of us actually have people to celebrate with..."

"Yeah." Al agreed, leaning his head against the the wall.

"Walk with me." Raya said after a few moments of silence, holding out her hand to help Al up. He glanced toward the door.

"I don't know..."

"Trust me. By the time we get back, they still won't have finished." She smiled, and that decided it for Al.

He allowed her to help him up and they set off around the building.

"So, anything exciting happen lately?" Raya asked.

Al grinned at her. "You know the answer to that."

Indeed she did. Raya had been one of the many soldiers helping to defend Central against the invasion by Eckhart's men, and one of the many to clean up Ed and Al's spectacular re-entrance to Amestris.

"Well, I wasn't counting those. I meant any _normal_ exciting stuff."

"Oh, that." Al faced forward, blushing slightly now that he knew what she meant. "No, not really. Not for me."

"Haven't even been able to snag any mistletoe kisses?" Raya teased.

Al shook his head 'no' frantic-ly, now blushing deeply.

Raya giggled. "Really? I wonder why? There must be plenty of girls who've tried to corner you under the mistletoe..."

Al buried his face in his hands. "Ray-a, stop it."

She giggled again, hugging him from behind. "Aww, but you're such fun to tease." He pouted at her over his shoulder, and she hugged tighter. "So _cute_! Oh, alright, I'll stop!"

They continued their walk in peace, until a chance look at the ceiling made Al freeze in his tracks, blushing.

"Al?" Raya asked. Then she followed his gaze and a look of pure 'Oh.' invaded her face. Then, she smirked and glanced at Al, sapphire eyes shining with mischief. "Mistletoe, eh? Well, better not break with tradition..." And before he had time to react, she was kissing him.

When she stepped things up from just brushing lips, he was at first a bit lost, but, being as much of a prodigy as his elder brother, he quickly caught on and was soon kissing like an old pro.

When they parted, Raya glanced around and said, "Oh look. We ended up back near General Mustang's office, and it sounds like he's about done with your brother. So, I guess I'll see you around?"

At his breathless nod, she sauntered off, turning and waving as she rounded the corner. After she was gone, Al looked down and noticed a paper clenched in his hand that hadn't been there before the kiss. He unfolded it, and it read 'Call me' followed by a number in Raya's loopy scrawl.

He smiled. The mistletoe tradition sure had it's uses...

**AN: That was easy to write. Hope the next one is the same way. Random: I was watching the FMA movie on my laptop, and my mom sat down beside me and looked over my shoulder just as Ed crashed through the Gate in a plane, and she laughed. And when she saw a close-up of Ed later in the movie, she said, "That's pretty." snorts yesh, Moony is easily amused. Review please. my much-beloved readers! And I know you're out there! You get recorded on my stats! So leave some reviews!**


	7. EdxOC: Kisses in the Snow

**Countdown to Christmas**

**Lady Moon-Chan**

**AN: The EdxOC chapter. Can't you tell I'm stalling the rest of the yaoi?**

**EdxOC: Kisses in the Snow**

Ed sighed as he walked along the snowy sidewalk in Central. Al was still shopping for a Christmas present for Raya and had promised to join him later. He smiled, happy that Al had gotten so into the holiday. A snowball to the back snapped Ed out of his thoughts. He whirled around at the sound of laughter to see his self-proclaimed stalker and rapist(also his secret crush), Lily Winters, with a smirk on her face, tossing a second snowball up and down in her gloved hand.

"I'm warning you, Lily," he said, causing her to look alarmed.

"You're dealing with an old pro!" he finished, launching a snowball of his own and hitting her in the face. "Mmph!" she cried, then, when she got the snow out of her face, she hissed, "You're going to pay for that, Elric!"

"So bring it on, then!" he crowed.

She smirked. "With pleasure." she launched another snowball, and hit him in a place where the cold definitely didn't feel good(aka, Family Jewels). He growled, and hit her with a snowball to the, ahem, _chalice_, in retaliation.

"Hey! That was below the belt!" she protested.

He smirked. "Exactly."

And that was the start of a snowball war that lasted for hours and hours, until neither party had the strength or desire to lift another snowball. They collapsed, panting, behind their individual snow forts. Finally, after catching his breath, Ed staggered over to Lily's fort and extended his hand to her. "Truce?"

"Truce." she agreed, then splatted him in the face with another snowball. He growled and pinned her ams to her sides. "Cheat." he hissed.

She grinned. "But you love me for it."

"Huh?" he blushed, a bewildered look coming over his face. Had she figured him out? He let her go, staggering back.

She giggled, then stood and tackled him into the snow. "Pinned ya."

He growled, beginning to grapple with her. They rolled so that the position of 'top' was rotated, continuing for about fifteen minutes, until, "Pinned ya again." Lily smirked.

They grappled again, with Ed ending up on top the next time. "Ha! Finally!" he crowed. Lily smiled, then leaned up and kissed him, which took him completely by surprise, allowing her to reverse their positions with a smirk.

"Hey! You cheated!" he declared.

"All's fair in love and snowball war." she teased, poking his nose.

He took in the smile on her face, the flush of exertion in her cheeks, the glow of contentment in her spring green eyes, and the snow caught in her red curls. 'She looks like an angel...' he thought, blushing. "Hey, Lily?" he said.

"Yes?" she asked, the smile morphing into a look of curiosity.

He leaned up and kissed her. She froze for about three seconds, then melted into the kiss, returning it.

When they parted, she laughed and hugged him. He hugged back, a wide, genuine smile on his face.

If anyone had been watching, they would not have recognized the boy laying in the snow hugging his new girlfriend as the FullMetal Alchemist, Edward Elric. He hadn't looked that happy or relaxed in years, after all.

**AN: Aww. I liked this one. Lily was good for Ed. happy sigh. Review please? big sparkly chibi eyes**


	8. AlxAl: Garland Bondage

**Countdown to Christmas**

**Lady Moon-Chan**

**AN: blushblush Christine: looks at pairing Hell, I'll do this one. (clears throat) Welcome to Chapter...8, I believe, of Countdown to Christmas by Lady Moon-Chan. This pairing is AlxAl. The warnings: well, the only new one is Scarred-for-Life Ed...The rating is still the same, and Moony still doesn't own FMA or Christmas. R&R, all of you. Also, it's AU(aren't all of these?), and deletes Heiderich's death from the movie. Enjoy, now.**

**AlxAl: Garland Bondage**

"Are you two sure you'll be alright while-" Edward Elric began, only to be cut off by his younger brother, Alphonse.

"Yes, Brother, yes. We're not children."

Ed muttered something that sounded like "That's what I'm worried about." before stepping out and closing the door behind him.

"Well, it appears he's starting to suspect something." Alfons Heiderich said, wrapping his arms around his younger alter and beginning to kiss the back of his neck.

"Of course he is. He nearly caught us at it the last time." Al said, ducking out from under Heiderich's arms and heading into the living room with an armful of Christmas decorations.

"Which makes me wonder why you don't just tell him. He can't exactly criticize. I can hear him in his sleep. He cries out for someone named Roy in his sleep sometimes, and last I checked, 'Roy' was definitely a guy's name." Alfons said, following suit.

"That's not it." Al said, stretching out to put a nutcracker ornament on a branch above his head. "It's that Brother has a tendency to stop me from doing things he thinks are bad for me, no matter I feel about them, and I'm scared that's how he's going to classify this relationship." he teetered, and Alfons wrapped an arm around him from behind, cuddling back to chest with Al even as the older took the ornament from his hand and put it on the branch Al had been trying to reach.

Al pouted. "Now I see why Brother complained so much about being short." he grumbled.

"Well, _I_ don't mind. I think it's cute- especially on _you_."

Al blushed, cheering up a tiny bit at the flattery. But still, in response he grumbled, "Of course _you_ don't mind. It gives you an excuse to brush up against me even when Brother is in the room, you horn dog."

Alfons chuckled. "Well then, it's your fault for making me that way. I was perfectly normal before you and your brother came into my life, after all."

Al pouted, and Alfons grinned. "Sorry, not gonna work."

Al stood up abruptly. "We'd better get started. Brother will be _awfully_ mad if he gets back and we're not done. And I_know_ it's not going to be _me_ he blows up at..." he said, putting a finger to his lower lip and looking over his shoulder at his lover in the picture of perfect innocence.

Alfons spluttered. "Under the innocent exterior, you are pure_evil_!"

Al merely laughed.

Later, when they were wrapping garlands around the tree, Alfons examined one, then looked at Al, and a smirk formed on his face.

"Alfons, could you pass me the gold garland please?" Al held out his hand.

When he didn't receive the garland, he turned around. "Alf-mmph!" he was promptly cut off in his query by a kiss, and when they parted for air, Alfons had managed to wrap his young alter in the very garland he'd been asking for.

"This isn't what I meant, you know." Al glared- or tried to. Because of his childish facial features, it came out as more of an infuriated pout.

Alfons kissed him quickly. "Somehow, I realized that."

"What are you doing, anyway?" Al asked. "Or do I want to know?"

"I was wrapping up my present." said Alfons said, pretending to look crestfallen.

Al laughed. "Stupid," he said affectionately. "you don't wrap presents with garlands. You wrap them with _ribbons_. Let me out of this garland and I'll demonstrate."

Alfons grinned and let the ends of the garland go. And once Al was free, he tied Alfons up with the garland and said, "Come on, you really didn't expect me to tie myself down someplace so you could have your evil way with me?"

Alfons pouted. "No..."

"Good boy." Al said, kissing Alfons.

And as he did so, an urk! sound came from the doorway.

The two whirled and saw Ed standing there with a look of pure shock on his face.

**AN: dun dun dun dun! What will Ed's reaction be? Find out in AlxAl 2: Chestnuts, which is going to be more than three chapters after this! Ciao!**


	9. HavXRiz: Hot Chocolate Candy Canes

**Countdown to Christmas**

**Lady Moon-Chan**

**AN: Sorry for the long wait, ppl. But my modem died, and the comcast guy couldn't come out till now to fix it, and then I had to start my January Bishounen Auction on my lj on the first, so...anyway, I'm back now, and here is the next chapter of CtC. R&R, onegai?**

**Warnings: same as the rest**

**Disclaimer: If I owned FMA, trust me, Elricest, Tringhamcest, etc would all be completely canon.**

**Pairing: HavocxHawkeye**

**HavocxHawkeye: Hot Chocolate Candy Canes**

Jean Havoc arose on Christmas Day from a dream that he'd actually saved up the money and gotten to go out and see his family for Christmas, and was drinking his mom's famous peppermint hot chocolate. Then a knock on his dorm room door. He rose and answered the door, finding one Riza Hawkeye standing on the other side in full winter regalia, holding a tray of hot chocolate with candy canes in the cups.

"Merry Christmas, Jean." she greeted warmly, proffering a cup to him.

"Merry Christmas, Riza." he took a cup, toasted her, and sipped at the steaming liquid inside the cup. His eyes widened. Just like Mom made. "Riza, would you like to have Christmas dinner together?"

Havoc knocked on the door of Riza's apartment. She opened the door clad in a cranberry sweater, a long black skirt, and black stockings. "Hello, Jean. You got here at the right time. The turkey is just about done. Would you like some hot chocolate?"

Havoc nodded and sat down on the couch.

Riza went into the kitchen and returned with two cups of hot chocolate, both with a candy cane sticking out of them. They both sipped quietly for a minute, before Havoc asked. "Hey, Riza, where did you learn this trick, he swirled his candy cane in his hot chocolate to indicate what he meant.

"My mother taught it to me. It's a traditional family recipe, apparently."

"Oh wow. My mom had the same technique of swirling a candy cane around in hot chocolate to give it a hint of peppermint flavor."

"Wow. What a small world." Riza chuckled. Havoc did the same.

"Yeah. It really is, huh?"

Just then, a ding sounded from the kitchen. Riza sprang up. "Oh, that's the turkey. Come into the kitchen with me."

She got up and walked into the kitchen, and Havoc followed suit.

Havoc prodded the now bi-sected turkey with the carving knife. "Looks like what Ed does to people who call him short."

The two exchanged a look, then burst out laughing."You're right!" Riza declared. "Or Ed himself when Winry gets a hold him after he breaks his automail!"

They dissolved into laughter yet again.

"Mmmph. Bisected or not, that was delicious turkey. You're a really good cook."

Riza smiled. "Thanks. I hope you saved room for dessert." she disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a pie, which she gave Havoc the first slice of.

After taking one bite, he looked up at her with a completely serious face. "This...is the best pie...in the history of pie[1."

She blushed slightly and ate her own pie with a grin.

As Havoc prepared to leave, Riza caught him by the coat sleeve. "Jean."

He turned. "Yes?"

She leaned up and gave him a kiss on the lips. "The New Years party the military is hosting. Would you like to go together?" she asked shyly.

He kissed her back. "I'll see you there."

**AN[1: Disclaiming this line. It belongs to Beast Boy of the Teen Titans. Okay. Me done. Review, please? I know you people are out there reading this! You get recorded! So for pity's sake, review!**


	10. Elricest: Snow Angels

**Countdown to Christmas**

**Lady Moon-Chan**

**AN: The Elricest chapter. I've been doing alright with the yaoi so far, let's see if I can keep it up. worryworry**

**Warnings: yaoi, incest, mush**

**Disclaimer: If I owned FMA, Elricest would be canon in both the series and the movie, and I wouldn't need to write this. Since I -am- writing it, though, I think you can guess what that means.**

**Elricest: Snow Angels**

"Hey, Gracia, have you seen Al?" Edward Elric asked his landlady, coming down the stairs.

"He's out back, playing in the snow." Gracia replied with a smile all too familiar to Edward. The alchemical genius nodded his thanks and stepped out the back door, where he immediately spotted his little brother Alphonse making a snow angel.

"Look, Brother!" Alphonse cried, sitting up, for he had spotted Edward at about the same time Edward saw him. He proudly showed of his snow angel.

Edward saw the snow angel, all right. But more notable was Alphonse himself.

His cheeks were flush from the cold, a warm, contented glow had settled in his eyes, there were snowflakes in his hair, and the cold winter sun made a halo of light in his harvest golden hair.

'Angel indeed.' Edward couldn't help thinking, before knocking that train of thought off the tracks before it could go further. "Come on, Al. Don't you want to open your presents?" he asked

Alphonse jumped up and fairly bounced over to Edward's side.

Edward chuckled and led his 'baby' brother back inside.

Later, the two wandered around the city enjoying the sights and sounds of the season, when 'WUMP!' Edward felt a snowball hit him square in the back. He turned and saw Alphonse looking at him innocently, with his hands clasped behind his back.

Edward chased Alphonse all around the city, until finally, they collapsed in a pile of snow by a bridge. Once he'd caught his breath, Alphonse began to make another snow angel.

"Al, what are you doing?" Edward asked.

"Making another snow angel. You make one too, Brother."

Edward opened his mouth to reply, but Alphonse took one of his brother's gloved hands in his own and looked at him with pleading eyes. "Please, Brother?"

Edward sighed and began to make a snow angel of his own.

Alphonse sat up and looked down at Edward thoughtfully. Then, the hand he supporting most of his weight on slid in the mushy snow, and he fell, landing with his lips pressed soundly against his brother's.

He sat up quickly, blushing. "S-sorry, Brother."

Edward shook his head and sat up as well, cupping Alphonse's chin and connecting their lips again, causing Alphonse to blush a deep red.

Alphonse approached Edward nervously as the elder lay in bed that night.

"Hey, Brother?"

"Yeah, Al?"

"Umm. I had fun today. Thanks."

"No problem."

"And...brother..." Alphonse leaned over and kissed Edward, chastely and innocently.

When they parted, Edward smiled. "Why don't you spend the night here, Al?" he asked, scooting over to give his little brother room.

Alphonse blushed. "'Kay."

He slid in next to Edward and drifted off to sleep. The perfect ending to the perfect day, in his mind. And all because of making snow angels, too...

**AN: sigh o' relief I pulled it off moderately well, thank God. Next chapter: uhhhh...you know, I have no idea. I'll have to think. light bulb goes off never mind. I thought of one, but it's a surprise. Hint: it involves homunculi. If you want to find out, leave a review before proceeding. Ja, minna-san!**


	11. Homunculi! Elricest: Christmas Is

**Countdown to Christmas**

**Lady Moon-Chan**

**AN: Okay, this chapter involves Pride!Ed and Envy!Al(Envy!Al is from my story, Becoming Sin, just so you know). So, you know, all warnings applicable to the homunculi stand tall. Oh, and, I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or Christmas. R&R and make a geeky otaku author very happy this holiday season.**

**Homunculi!Elricest: Christmas is...**

Pride frowned as he stared at the busy humans bustling on the streets below. "Pointless." he muttered.

"I don't know..." his younger brother Envy's voice issued from behind him. "There's plenty of good traditions about their Christmas. That's yet another kiss you owe me, Pride."

Pride snorted, glancing up at the green-and-white sprig Envy held aloft above both of their heads. "You don't need to wave some stupid plant around to get me to kiss you."

Envy brought his free hand up and ran it through Pride's loose golden hair. "Mm, I know. But it's fun."

Pride rolled his eyes. "That I doubt." Any further comment by him was cut off by Envy planting a kiss on his lips that started out chaste, but quickly turned passionate.

"See? Fun." Envy said with a smile, the childlike homunculus positively glowing with pride at having proven his big brother wrong.

"I'll show you fun." Pride murmured, pushing Envy down to the floor and beginning to divest him of his clothes.

A few hours later, with Envy asleep after some rigorous sex, Pride sat up, once again pondering what a certain day on the calendar could mean to humans to make them celebrate it so. Shadowed golden eyes drifted shut, pondering the few memories that remained of his humanity.

One of them was of this 'Christmas' and he had cherished it as a human because he had his beloved brother by his side. His brother was still here, wasn't he? So what was it, then? Was it possible that one had to be human, to have a soul, to understand 'Christmas'?

His thoughts were interrupted by Envy sitting up beside him. "You've got that look again." The younger homunculus observed. "Like you're thinking about sad things."

Pride shook his head. Then he glanced over at his 'brother'. They couldn't truly BE brothers anymore, since homunculi didn't technically have familial relations, but even as he thought that, a memory came to his mind, of a young homunculus calling the one he'd created as a human 'mommy'. "Envy?"

"Hmm?" the other nuzzled Pride's neck, throwing his arms around his shoulders affectionately.

"Do you remember what made this human holiday 'Christmas' so special to you?" Pride's eyes reflected the setting sun perfectly.

Envy looked down. "There's a few memories...mostly it was because you were with me, Brother..."

"I see."

"Humans cherish it because it gives them an excuse to see family members and loved ones they wouldn't have time to visit otherwise, I think."

"But that doesn't apply to us." Pride frowned. "We're right beside each other. Always."

"But most of the time we're too busy avoiding the military to really enjoy each other's company. This is the first time we've spent alone together without worrying about being caught in a long time." Envy rested his head against Pride's chest, listening to the slow rythmic beating from within.

"That's true..."

From outside, the two sins heard a group of human voices rise in chorus.

_"It's the time _

_of the season_

_For loving_

_You..."_

Envy twined his hands in his brother's hair, kissing the silky strands. "I think I understand it, Brother."

"Oh?" Pride favored the younger homunculus with a curious look.

"Humans value it so much because to them, Christmas is a time for joy and love and hope."

"Peace on Earth, good will towards men." Pride murmured.

Envy looked surprised. "Where did that come from?"

"Does it matter?" Pride countered. He trailed a few kisses down Envy's neck.

Envy blushed. "Pride, what are you doing that for?"

Pride grinned up at Envy, looking for all the world like the cat who'd just gotten the canary. "You _said_ Christmas was the season of love."

Envy's blush deepened. "Well, that's...it..."

Pride shushed him with a kiss. "Ssh, little brother. Just lay back and enjoy it."

"I love you, Brother." Envy whispered.

"I love you too, little brother." _No matter what. Human or homunculus, I will always love you._

Somewhere faraway, the human carolers sang again,

_"It's the time_

_of the season_

_For loving_

_You..."_

**AN: There's the end. Next chapter, we find out Ed's reaction to Al's relationship with Alfons, which we witnessed in Garland Bondage. Review!**


	12. AlxAl 2: Chestnuts

**Countdown to Christmas**

**Lady Moon-Chan**

**Here's the long-awaited(by me at least) part two to Garland Bondage! Will Ed accept his brother's relationship with Alfons Heiderich, or will Al be forced to choose between his brother and his lover?**

**AlxAl 2: Chestnuts**

"B-brother..." Al stepped back from Alfons, shocked, apprehensive, and fearful of his brother's temper all at once. If Ed chose to take the rage showing on his face out on Al himself, it wouldn't be so bad. After all, Al could beat his brother if it came to physical blows. But if he chose to take it out on Alfons...

"What the _hell_ is this?" Edward Elric asked, spluttering with rage. Along with that confusion and hurt were also creeping into his expression.

"Al and I are in a relationship." Alfons said, wrapping his arms around Al protectively. Al instinctively allowed himself to sink intp the other man's warmth and the familiar musky scent of his cologne.

"S-since when!?" Edward shouted, the shock coming to the forefront instead of the rage.

"For about six months now." Al whispered, unable to meet his brother's eyes.

"Six months?!" Edward's rage came back full force. "Six months, and you didn't say a word to me?!"

Al flinched away from his brother's glare. "I wanted to, but..."

"But what, Al!? I'm all ears!" Edward hissed.

"That you wouldn't...that you wouldn't take it well..." Al whispered, looking up at last. "Brother, I-"

"How do you think I'm taking it now, Al!?" Edward shouted. Al recoiled and drew closer to Alfons, tears forming in his big brown eyes.

"Brother..." He sad softly.

"Calm down, Edward. You're scaring your brother." Alfons cut in, keeping his tone soft and gentle. "We're all adults here, let's discuss this like-"

"'We're all adults here'?" Edward parroted. "Like hell we are! Al isn't even legal yet!"

"All the same. If you don't lower your voice, the whole building, our landlady included, is going to overhear this conversation." Alfons remained calm.

"What the hell do I care!? You're the child molester here, not me!"

"That's not true!" Alfons' calm finally shattered. "I never-" He doubled up coughing.

Al rubbed his back in an attempt to ease the fit. He turned his head to see his brother, now glaring. "That was too much, Brother."

"I'm too much? You've been in a secret relationship with another guy for the past sixth months, and I'm too much!?"

"That's not what I meant, and you know it!" Al shouted, advancing towards his brother. "It's not like that at all! Not only would I never let him force himself on me, we've barely even gone past making out!"

"Oh, that makes me feel so much better! My brother and my roommate have ONLY been making out behind my back for the past six months!"

A sob ripped itself from Al's throat. "Brother, you jerk!" He swung a punch that sent Edward to the floor, then raced out of the apartment, without even bothering to put on his coat.

"Al!? Al!!!" Edward grabbed his coat and Al's and was about to chase after his brother.

"Wait." Alfons stood shakily, retrieving his coat as well.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Edward snarled.

"Coming with you." replied Alfons. "You're not the only here one who cares about Al, Edward."

"Fine." Edward hissed, stalking out the door. Alfons followed as quickly as he could without sending his body into another fit of coughing.

After nearly half an hour of searching the area around their apartment, Edward turned to Alfons. "Is there someplace inside the city limits where you can see the river as it flows past?"

"Yeah, but why?" Alfons asked, already beginning to lead the way there. He went often because he loved the view of the wild, rushing Rein[1.

"Whenever we had a fight as kids, Al would run off and sit by the riverbank to cool off." Edward murmured, eyes dimming in nostalgia.

"That would explain why he asks me to take him there so often..." Alfons muttered.

"He has? Why didn't you mention that?" Edward rounded on his brother's alter with a glare.

Alfons put his hands up defensively. "I didn't think it was important! It's just a scenic viewpoint, and Al never mentioned anything about going there after fighting with you when he was a kid..."

Edward nodded, falling silent and allowing Alfons to lead the way to the overlook.

When they got there, a snowstorm had begun and Al was nowhere in sight. Ed turned to glare at Alfons. "Well, where is he?"

Alfons raised a finger to his lips. "Ssh."

Edward shushed, and presently, both men could here a small sound, barely audible over the wind. Someone sobbing.

"AL!" Edward shouted, dashing to the railing designed to keep people from walking to close to the edge of the overlook and risk falling into the river.

Al sat a ways below on another ledge. At the sound of his brother's voice, he looked up, glared, and turned to face the water again.

Alfons walked over and joined Edward at the railing. "Al, please! Come back up here! Its dangerous down there! You could fall!"

Al glanced nervously at the rushing waters below his perch and looked back at Alfons. His mouth opened to speak, standing up, and then the rocks he was standing on shifted and fell loose under his weight. He let out a small cry, hugging the 'cliff' he'd climbed down to reach the ledge.

Alfons kneeled down, leaning his upper body out of the bars of the railing, extending one arm. "Al, come on! Get out of there!"

Al scrambled up and grabbed Alfons' hand. From there, the man was able to help him lift himself back onto more stable ground.

Alfons took Al's coat from Edward and draped it around the shaking boy. "Here, your frozen."

Al hugged his lover tightly. "I was so scared...I thought...I thought..." A small sob escaped him.

"I know, but it's okay. You're safe now." Alfons stroked the back of the boy's head.

Edward realized for the first time how Winry must have felt about he and Al leaving her out of everything.

Back at the apartment, Al had settled into a warm bath with Alfons's help and the sickly teen emerged from the bathroom to find Edward curled up morosely in a chair in the living room that he had long since claimed.

Edward grabbed Alfons's sleeve as the taller passed by his perch. "Hey."

"Yes?" Alfons couldn't help being curious, since the normally loud and energetic blonde was now quiet and subdued.

"Thanks. For helping Al. He wouldn't have come up to safe ground if you hadn't been there, and I'd have...I'd have lost him..." tears glimmered in golden eyes.

Alfons shook his head. "You don't have to thank me. It's like I said earlier: you're not the only one here who cares for Al."

Ed seemed to sink deep into thought at that, and Alfons tugged his sleeve loose and continued into the kitchen.

When he came out carrying three paper bags, Edward looked up curiously.

"What are those?"

"Chestnut bags to roast. I got them yesterday." Alfons replied, handing one to Ed and setting the third down beside him.

Edward stared at his bag. "Sorry." he mumbled.

"Pardon?"

"I said I'm sorry. I can see now you and Al really care about each other, and I have no right to get in the way of that."

"Apology accepted, Brother." Al stood in the doorway, dressed in dry clothes with a towel around his shoulders to keep his still-wet hair from soaking through the shirt he wore.

Alfons smiled at his younger lover and held out his arms, inviting Al to sit in his lap.

Al took the invitation happily, and soon the three sat roasting chestnuts in companionable silence.

**AN: It's over! Why do I get the feeling that this is gonna be one of the longest ones? And also, I may add a third part to this, so please keep your eyes peeled, minna[1 I'm not sure if there's any place like this in Munich, or if the Rein River even flows past Munich so that you can see it from the city, but even if there's not, I will not edit the story to reflect that because I need those elements. Review, ja ne!**


	13. RoyxAl: Ribbons and Bows

**Countdown to Christmas**

**Lady Moon-Chan**

**AN: Ohayo, minna! This one-shot also features everyone's favorite tin can, and since I don't remember doing this for the last few chapters, Disclaimer: I do not own FullMetal Alchemist or Christmas. Claimer: I own the gold garland, Lily, Raya, Scieska's fancy shirt, and Christine(who hasn't appeared yet and won't this shot). Well, I'll let you read now, ja!**

**RoyxAl: Ribbons and Bows**

Roy doesn't like Christmas. He has made this abundantly clear to Al, both because of the wet, cold weather, and because of the way the season makes his employees beg to go home early with full pay. But Al is determined to show him that there are plenty of good things about Christmas too.

Roy entered the house after a long, stressful day and wrestled his boots off, heading for the kitchen where Al would be waiting with a warm, home-cooked meal. And perhaps a neck message as well. He felt stiff and Al's hands were pure magic.

The kitchen was empty of his lover, though dinner was sitting on the stove, steaming and simply begging to be eaten. Roy acquiesced to its request, gobbling it down and then frowning in puzzlement at the strange symbols that had most likely been alchemically engraved in the plate, recognizing it as Al's code for his research notes. He grabbed the notepad and pen they kept by the phone to record messages and set to work decoding it. _uoyro fden nalpt ress edgib aeva hI. llufo ott egt 'ndi duoy epohI. Ihope youd idn' tge tto ofull. Ih avea bigde sser tplan nedf oryou. I hope you didn't get get too full. I have a big dessert planned for you._

Roy's jaw dropped. He ripped his decoding off the pad, hardly able to believe sweet, innocen t little Al could have actually written something so erotic. Then he grinned. "I always knew he had a devious side." He looked at the pad, noticing another note on the second sheet in Al's handwriting.

_Roy, I have hidden a "Christmas present" for you somewhere in the house. Follow the clues to find it. For the first clue, look in the Fifth Passage, Century 12, Philosopher of the West._

Roy narrowed his eyes in thought. Philosopher of the West was an old Xingan text Al was translating over to Amestrian. His eyes widened. The next clue was in the library. He slammed open the library doors, running over to the desk. He thumbed through the fragile Xingan manuscript carefully. As much as he wanted the next clue, he didn't want to risk damaging the old parchment and incurring his younger lover's wrath. In the fifth passage of the twelfth chapter, he found a note taped loosely to the page over top of the Xingan text.

_Congratulations, Roy! But I made the first one easy on purpose. This one is harder. You store your old possessions in me, and your children and grandchildren are both scared and fascinated by me in their early years. What am I?_

Roy frowned, beginning to pace. You could store your old possessions in a trunk, but why would a trunk scare children? 'Scare and fascinate.' He corrected himself. 'Something that stores things, but also scares and fascinates young children...the attic!'

He ran up to the attic as fast as he could, scanning the room with his eyes as he caught his breath. He saw another paper stuck to an old mirror and walked over, snatching it up.

_So you figured out the last one? Good, give yourself a pat on the pack. Now, I'll give you the second to last clue: I shelter you from rain and snow, but you can also stand on me and gaze at the heavens. What am I?_

That sounded like a balcony or something, but his house had no balconies. Besides that, it didn't fit with the riddle. A balcony didn't shelter you from the elements. 'Wait...the roof! The next clue is on the roof!' Roy crossed the attic briskly, opening the door that led up to the roof. He climbed the short flight of stairs carefully, emerging on his roof. "But where could he hide a clue up here?" Roy's eyes slid to the chimney and he clambered over to it, going on all fours for better grip and balance.

When he made it to the chimney, Roy pulled himself back into a standing position, realizing how ridiculous he must look, crawling around his own roof because Al had set up a scavenger hunt. He briefly gave thanks that no one from the military could see him now, standing out in the cold without a coat, clinging to his chimney with one arm and groping the other side of it for another note from Al.

He felt no paper, but a certain brick did feel strange. It was riddled with a lot more intricate cracks than even an old brick should have. Roy eased himself around the chimney and realized why when he saw the brick he'd been touching. It wasn't cracked at all. Al had alchemized his note onto the brick. Roy squinted to read the perfect, miniature handwriting.

_Roy. I'm getting impatient, so I'll make this one easy. What's the one place where we get the most exercise?_

Roy smirked, descending the roof to the attic, then left the attic and headed down the hall for their bedroom. Given how Al had failed to put in an appearance this whole time, he could guess just what his "dessert" and "Christmas present" were.

He eased open the bedroom door. "Oh, Al-" he choked at the delicious sight before his eyes.

Al sat on the bed, swinging his legs impatiently. The only hint of clothing on him was the satin sheet(since when was the bed made up with satin anyway? Al must have either bought new ones or transmuted them from the normal sheets) placed for modesty, and the ribbons adorning his body. Both his feet were wound with evergreen ribbons tied into artful bows, red ones from shoulder to elbow on each of his arms, a slender white one tied loosely into a bow around his neck, and a gold ribbon tied around his chest, wider than the others, and tied into a bow that Roy would have lost patience with and transmuted.

In addition, he had let his long, dirty blonde hair out of its usual ponytail and it fell down his back, twining around his shoulders as though it were ribbon as well, and long white ribbons had been tied to each of the bedposts. Looking how Al was dressed(or how he wasn't) Roy was pretty sure they weren't just there as innocent decorations.

"Al...wha...you...good God..."

Al blinked and tilted his head to one side in the picture of perfect innocence. He held his arms out. "Roy," his voice silky. "aren't you going to open your present?"

* * *

Roy rolled onto his side, completely exhausted after that wild experience. Who would have known Al was kinky enough to enjoy bondage?

"Forgetting someone?" His petite partner asked from behind him.

"Oh, sorry." Roy rolled back over, sitting up to untie Al's wrists from the bed. Then the boy sat up himself and reached down to untie his ankles. That accomplished, he turned to Roy.

"So?"

"So what?"

"Did your present manage to change your opinion of Christmas?" Al asked hopefully, scooting so that he is laying down cuddled up to Roy.

Roy considered it, stroking the boy's soft hair. "Well...since this was such a wonderful and unexpected present, I may just end up revising my opinion."

Al's eyes widened, then he smiled widely and wrapped his arms around Roy's waist. "Thank you, Roy."

Roy lay down as well, planting a kiss on Al's forehead. "Hey, no promises. Now get some sleep."

Al did as he was told, drifting off to sleep with his head tucked under Roy's chin. Roy followed not long after. Before he did, he reflected that there was at least one aspect of Christmas that he like better now: all the useful ribbons and bows.

**AN: Whew, there's that! So, what do you think? Bad? Good? OOC? Let me know. Ja ne!**


	14. AlWin: Jingle Bells

**Countdown to Christmas**

**Lady Moon-Chan**

**AN: I'm baaaack! And I come bearing AlxWin! Who doesn't love a Christmas classic? Disclaimer: I managed to buy FMA off Hiromu Arakawa and I made Homunculus help me go back in time to claim credit for founding Christmas for myself. And if you believe that, I have some prime oceanfront property in Ohio to sell you. Notes: set after series, but before the movie. A little something that COULD have happened between Al and Winry.**

**AlxWin: Jingle Bells**

"Winry! Winry, wake up!"

Winry opens her eyes, squinting up at Al through the sunlight filtering through her bedroom window. "What is it, Al?"

"It's a surprise! Come on, hurry!" Al rushes out of the room, and Winry glimpses that he is dressed to go outside in the snow.

Winry dresses the same way, then heads downstairs, but finds no trace of Al, only Granny and Rose, preparing breakfast. "Where's Al?" she asks, taking a spatula from Payne[1 and handing it to Rose, who gives her a grateful look.

"Around back." Pinako answers. "He told me to tell you to meet him there."

"Thanks Granny." Winry hugs her grandmother before running outside and heading around the back of the house. The sight before her eyes makes her gasp. There is a sleigh there, like she saw in Central when she was a very little girl and she had gone with her parents to the city on a trip. She had wanted to ride in the sleigh, had thought everyone would think she was a princess up in that sleigh, in her new big girl coat and boots.

Al approaches, leading a horse. When he sees her, he grins sheepishly. "I hadn't meant for you to come out yet. Granny was supposed to give me enough time to get the horse hitched up before she told you where to meet me."

"But, what's all this for?" Winry asks, not quite able to believe that what she's seeing is real.

"Isn't it obvious? We're going for a ride!" Al explains, smiling. "I know it was a long time ago that you saw the sleigh in Central, but you still want to ride in one, right?"

Winry rushes over and hugs him before she can stop herself. He has forgotten his travels with his brother on their search for the Philosopher's Stone, and all the pain and joy he experienced along the way, but he remembers her dearest wish from when she was a little girl as if it were yesterday.

"Winry?" His confusion is obvious in his voice.

"Yes, Al. I still want to ride in one." She makes a strange sound somewhere between a giggle and a sob.

Al pulls away and offers her a brilliant smile. "Then climb in!" And he turns away to hitch up the horse, a dapple gray with calm brown eyes that remind Winry of Al himself.

Winry settles herself on the bench and his surprised to find a pair of hot water bottles inscribed with arrays and a pile of blankets beneath her feet. "Al, how long have you been up getting this ready?"

Al climbs in beside her, leaning down and heating the water in the hot water bottles with alchemy, then pulling the blankets up to both their knees. "Oh? An hour or two I guess." He flicks the reins lightly, and the horse begins to trot.

The bells on its harness jingle with every step it takes, and Winry finds herself softly singing an old Christmas carol her mother used to favor. "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way..." she shrieks abruptly as they go down a steep hill. Once they are at the bottom, she glares and playfully punches Al. "Jerk. You could have warned me."

"I could have." Al agrees. Then he grins wickedly. "But what would be the fun in that?" He laughingly ducks another punch from Winry.

Winry leans back in the seat, crossing her arms and huffing. "Boys."

Al laughs again, urging the horse to turn to the left.

Their path takes them up another hill, and Winry shivers suddenly, feeling something cold and wet shift against her leg.

Al notices. "What's wrong? Did your water bottle get cold?" He leans over and unburies her feet, reheating the water bottle. He rises to return to his seat just as they descend the other side of the hill and winds up sprawled over Winry's lower body.

He blushes furiously when he comprehends their position and gets back into his seat as quickly as he can. "S-sorry." He fiddles with the reins nervously.

Winry's face is burning red as well. "No. You...you didn't mean to." she demurs, looking at the snow covered landscape outside the sleigh. Anywhere but Al after that.

After about a minute of uncomfortable silence, Al speaks. "Maybe we should turn around. Breakfast is probably ready by now anyway."

"Y-yeah. Probably." Winry replies. Al guides the horse into turning around and they follow their own tracks over the hills, heading home.

As they drive, Winry glances at Al out of the corner of her eye. He doesn't look all that much like Ed, even though they are brothers. His features are soft, childish, where Ed's are sharp. But in this instant, with his eyes focused somewhere on the horizon and the wind blowing through his hair, Winry can almost believe she's looking at Ed and not Al.

"Al." She says softly. He glances her way.

"Yes?"

"Do you really mean what you said last night at dinner? About going to your teacher's place after New Year's so she can train you in alchemy again?"

"Yeah." Al is once again focused straight ahead. "I have to find him, Winry. He's out there somewhere, I know he is. And he'd be looking for me if our rolls were reversed."

"I'm sure he's looking for you anyway, wherever he is." Winry says softly. Another pause, and then, "So, is this a goodbye present, then?"

Al nods. "It is. I've heard that...we worried you a lot on our journey, brother and I...never writing, never calling. So I figured I'd try to make up for that a little bit before I leave."

Winry can feel the tears coming on. "Just make sure you remember this better than your stupid, stubborn brother did: you always have a home here with Granny, Rose, and me."

Al smiles. "I'll remember. Thanks, Winry." They spend the rest of the ride back to the Rockbell house in a comfortable silence, and when they arrive, Winry helps Al unhitch the horse.

"Thanks for the sleigh ride, Al." she says softly. "I'll never forget it."

"Neither will I." Winry turns to find Al staring at her.

"Al?"

He doesn't respond verbally, just steps into the little bit of space separating them and leans over, kissing her.

Winry leans into the kiss, putting her arms around him.

When they break the kiss for air, Winry's eyes tear up. "Al..."

Al smiles gently. "Ssh." He wipes the tears away, then kisses her again.

When they part this time, Winry clings to the folds of his coat. "Can't you stay just a little while longer? Please?"

Al shakes his head. "Don't worry, Winry. After I find Brother, I'll bring him back here, and then neither of us will ever leave you again." he hugs her tightly.

"Al..." Winry hugs back. "Keep in touch. And stop by whenever you want a homecooked meal."

Al steps back, grinning. "Of course." He goes into the house, but Winry remains in the backyard, reflecting on how Al has made her biggest childhood dream come true, but has killed the one of her future that was just beginning to develop. Because she has a feeling that it won't be as Al says, and once he finds his brother, he will be lost to her forever. She'll just have to cherish whatever time together they have left, and of course, she will always remember this day and this sleigh ride.

"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way..."

**AN: Well, there we go. Whoa, that was angsty. But hey, this is FMA. The show is founded on angst. Anyway, tell me your thoughts, please, and stay tuned for the next one-shot. I'll give you a clue. It involves everyone's favorite family-obsessed Investigations officer! Ja!**


	15. MaesxGracia: Little Christmas

**Countdown to Christmas**

**Lady Moon-Chan**

**AN: Here's the next one shot, a little nugget of family cheer to get you smiling again after the incredible angst of the last chapter. I can't believe I wrote it like that. It was supposed to fluffy and sappy and cheerful, but it came out flangst. Oh well. I do not own FMA and I don't own Christmas. I do, however, own the Philosopher's Stone, and therefore I own Homunculus-san!**

**Homunculus: That's a ruby _shaped_ like the stone you bought on E-bay.**

**LM-C: Damnit! Go rape Eike or something then.**

**Homunculus: (evil grin) If you insist. Oh, Eike...(vanish)**

**Read it. You KNOW you want to!**

**HughesxGracia: Little Christmas**

Gracia Hughes' eye twitched. She loved her husband, she really did. But enough was enough. "Maes, we already decided to name the baby Elysia." she hissed through her clenched teeth.

"But she was born only a few days before Christmas! Like a special delivery Christmas gift! Please can't we change her name to Little Christmas, please!?"

"NO, Maes." Gracia clenched her hands in the comforter on her lap to avoid wrapping them around her beloved husband's throat and throttling him.

"But honey-"

"No means no, Maes! No matter how much you beg, that isn't going to change!" Gracia rolled over, effectively ending the discussion. She hoped.

"But-" Maes' attention was diverted by the cries of their infant daughter Elysia. "Daddy's coming, pumpkin!" He cried, rushing out of their bedroom.

Gracia sighed in relief. "Thank God he loves her so much."

A few days later, at Christmas, Maes bustled around, setting up his camera and tripod. He timed the picture for five seconds, then quickly ducked into place beside Gracia, who held Elysia in her lap. That became the official 'Maes Hughes Office Christmas Card 1914'.

Elysia was a too young to actually participate in the party at all, but the cranberry velvet Christmas dress she wore got lots of compliments, and her father kept her by his side most of the night so she was never lonely.

"Maes, it's all right. I can take her for a while." Gracia offered for about the tenth time, extending her arms to take the baby.

Maes shifted Elysia in his arms. "Come on, just let me keep her for a little while longer. I'll give her to you before I go talk to any of the guys from the office, how's that?"

"Alright." Gracia nodded, before her attention was distracted by a group of officer's wives cornering her and demanding recipes to the various appetizers.

Maes grinned. "Come on Elysia, let's go see if Uncle Ed showed up. He'll be so delighted to see you again, my little bundle of Christmas joy!"

As the party wound down, Gracia looked around but couldn't find Maes and Elysia. "Well, he must not have gotten to talk to his buddies..." After a visual search revealed that they were not in the kitchen, living room, or dining room(the focal points of the party), Gracia headed for the stairs, looking in their bedroom and the upstairs bathroom before she heard Maes' voice.

"So, Uncle Peter asked, 'What's your name little girl?', and the girl replied. 'Little Christmas, sir, but most everyone calls me Chrissy.' The gentleman was puzzled, and asked. 'And why do they call you that?' 'Because I was born on Christmas, sir.' Little Christmas replied. 'Well so was I.' replied Uncle Peter." Maes paused. "The end. Goodnight, sweetheart."

Gracia entered Elysia's room just in time to see him lower Elysia into her bassinet, place a kiss to her forehead, and turn around. He stopped short on seeing her.

"Sorry, but she started fussing and the only thing I could figure it was was that she was tired. So, I put her to bed."

Gracia smiled. "I can see that. What were you reading to her?"

Maes chuckled and held up a book he'd left sitting in the rocker beside the bassinet. It was entitled _The Story of Little Christmas_, and the cover showed a well-dressed gentleman doffing his hat to a little girl in a ragged dress who was holding a broom.

Gracia rolled her eyes. "Maes...are you still trying to convince me to change her name to Little Christmas?"

Maes shook his head. "It's a classic, that's all." He glanced back at Elysia, sleeping soundly in her bassinet, and smiled. "But I think she's a bit young to understand it yet."

"Most likely. She probably doesn't even understand that you're trying to tell her a story right now. But I'm sure she'll love it if you try reading it to her again when she's a little older."

Maes nodded. Then went back over to the bassinet and leaned down to kiss the sleeping infant's forehead once again. "Goodnight, sweetheart. Daddy loves you."

He went back to Gracia, offering his arm. She laughed.

"We're only going to bed, honey."

"It's still the polite thing to do. So, shall we?"

Gracia laughed again, taking his arm and allowing him to escort her from Elysia's room to theirs. "Goodnight, honey."

"Goodnight."

The next Christmas, Gracia and a few lingering officers' wives who had volunteered to help cleanup sent the last of the guests home with leftovers, then the other women took their leave, bundled up in winter coats and scarves, each clutching a plate of leftovers.

Gracia headed up to Elysia's room, and as she approached, she could hear Maes' voice again. "So, Litte Christmas waited until they had both left the building, and then she crept out, running as hard s she could for Uncle Peter's house. When she arrived, she pounded on the gate as hard as she could. 'Uncle Peter! Please, open up! It's Little Christmas, it's Chrissy!'

"Uncle Peter and Peter came running to the gate and let Little Christmas in, and she lived there until she was grown. And one Christmas, thirty years after Little Christmas had disappeared and returned, Uncle Peter died, just as he wished on Christmas Day

Gracia entered just as Maes tucked Elysia in and kissed her goodnight. Then he straightened up, tucked the book back into her little bookshelf and turned to Gracia.

"You were right, by the way." He looped an arm around her shoulders as they walked back to their bedroom.

"About what?"

"I think Elysia definitely liked the story a lot better this year."

Gracia laughed. "Maes! She's a year old!"

"So? She still liked it better..." Maes raised his chin and stared down at her, as though he was just daring her to challenge him.

"If it makes you happy, then I'm sure she did." Gracia cooed, pinching his cheek.

"Oww...okay, that's it. This means war." Maes dug his fingers into her sides and began to tickle mercilessly.

"Maes, haha, stop it, hahahaha, stop! I, haha, give! I give!" Gracia collapsed against the doorframe, giggling helplessly.

Maes grinned cockily. "Say uncle."

"Uncle! Uncle!"

"Now, say 'I'm going to rename our daughter Little Christmas."

"Maes!"

He laughed. "Kidding, kidding. Come on, let's get to bed. It's late."

Maes never did get to rename Elysia 'Little Christmas' but the story definitely became one of Elysia's all time favorites.

**AN: Aww, just a sweet little snippet about the Hughes' in a happier time. Like it or no? Tell me, please.**

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	16. AlxRose: Home for Christmas

**Countdown to Christmas**

**Lady Moon-Chan**

**AN: Next up, RosexAl. Not one of my all-time favorites, but sweet enough to appear here. That, and unlike most Elric brothers fan girls, I actually rather like Rose. And pity her. Come on, people, every time she appeared, someone was putting her on! First it was Cornello, then it was Scar, then Dante was planning to steal her body and use it to hook up with Ed! Give the poor girl a break, already. Disclaimer: I'm not rich enough to own FMA, nor old enough to own Christmas. Happy holidays.**

**AlxRose: Home for Christmas**

Rose looked out the train window at the snowy countryside and barely suppressed a shiver. She had been born and raised out in the desert, and the cold still got to her more than it would other people. That was why, happy as she was to be going and spending the holidays with Winry and Granny, she half-wished they had never even invited her.

"Resembool! Resembool station, next stop!" The conductor called.

Rose hurried to get her meager luggage together and fish her ticket stub out of the deep pocket of her coat- much too thin to deal with the winter in this region, even though Resembool wasn't all that far north. When the train pulled into the station, she handed her stub over to the conductor and left the train with her small suitcase.

"Rose!" A voice rose over the noise of the station that Rose recognized instantly. "Hey, over here!"

Rose turned, looking for the source of the voice, and saw a tall blonde girl with big blue eyes bundled into a padded coat, scarf, earmuffs, and mittens.

"Winry!" she rushed over to the other girl, eager to get to the Rockbell house as quickly as possible and get out of the cold.

"It's good to see you, Rose." Winry greeted.

"It's good to be here." Rose replied, then shivered.

Winry chuckled. "I forgot you're from the desert. Here, let' get in out of the cold. The house isn't far from here."

"I'm glad to hear that." Rose laughed with relief.

The two girls walked out of the station and down the country lane, laughing and chatting amiably. The walk was mainly uneventful, until they came to the crest of the third hill, where evidence of charring could still be seen on the solitary, snow-covered tree on the hilltop. The snow in the area around said tree was lumpy, as though the snow had fallen over debris.

Rose sobered up. "Is that where...Ed and Al...?"

Winry's eyes dimmed, and she nodded. "Yeah. That's where their house used to be."

Rose stood staring for a moment. She could almost see the brothers as children, bursting out the door to play outside, and a woman in the door, smiling and shaking her head at their antics. A gust of wind penetrating her coat brought her back to reality and she turned to Winry.

"I'm sorry. Let's go inside."

Winry smiled a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and nodded. "Y-yeah. Let's."

Inside the Rockbell home, Rose found herself sitting alone in the living room/dining room as Winry and Pinako bustled around the kitchen preparing dinner. She had tried to do her share, but the old woman had chased her out of the kitchen, saying that it was "Just plain rude to make a guest help with the work." Rose glanced around, and her eyes fell on some old photographs sitting on a shelf.

Curious, she walked over to get a better look. One showed Winry at about age six, holding the dog Den(still a puppy in this picture) up beside her, and in front of her were Ed and Al at about the same age, with Ed pulling a face at the camera, and Al laughing at his brother.

Al...The last she'd seen the younger Elric, he had regained his flesh body, exactly the same as it was when he was ten. He hadn't seemed to remember her at all, so she had brought him here to Resembool, the most familiar place he could possibly know. And last she'd heard, he was staying here, so where was he?

"Hey, Rose, dinner's ready." Winry called, entering the room. She walked over and stood beside the other girl. She laughed when she saw which picture the girl was staring at. "Oh, wow that's old. I forgot it even got taken."

"Hey, Winry, where's Al?" Rose asked, turning away. "The last I saw him, he was here, so..."

Winry blinked. "Oh, that. He's been in Dublith with his alchemy teacher since a few days after you dropped him off. I did't mention it in the letter, but I think he'll be staying there over Christmas."

Rose sighed. "I see."

Winry nodded. "I know, I was disappointed too, but...we'll manage. He might still show up, Christmas is still a few days away yet."

Rose nodded. "That's true."

"Now come on." Winry led her into the kitchen by the arm. "If we wait any longer to go in, the food will get cold and Granny will get mad at us."

Rose walked in from her Christmas shopping to hear the phone ringing. Since Winry and Granny were busy doing something to someone's automail, she picked it up. "Hello, Rockbell Automail."

"Winry?" The voice on the other end was faint, and static made it hard to hear very well, but there was still no mistaking it. "You sound kind of strange..."

"Oh, it's not Winry, Al. It's Rose. I'm staying with Winry for the holidays."

"Rose..." He sounded as if he were straining to remember something. "Oh, _Rose_! Okay. Look, don't tell Winry I called, okay? I want to surprise her and Granny by just showing up. Please don't mention this."

Rose chuckled. "Don't worry. My lips are sealed."

Al sighed with relief. "Great, thanks. I'm glad I could count on you. Bye, see you soon." He hung up, and so did Rose.

Right at that moment, Winry entered the room. "Rose, was somebody on the phone?"

"Rose, was somebody on the phone?"

"Umm..."no. Just somebody with a wrong number."

The next day, Winry, Rose, and Pinako were just sitting down to lunch when a knock came at the front door.

Winry rose. "Who could that be...?"

Rose was already halfway out of the room. "I'll get it!"

She opened the door to see Al standing on the other side, a taller Al than she remembered who looked more like Ed, with his long hair and even wearing the same red coat. "Al, it's been so long!" she threw her arms around the boy without a second thought.

He let out a squeak. "Nice to see you too, Rose."

She backed off, smiling, and right then was when Winry came into the room. "Rose, who's at the-Al!?"

Al grinned sheepishly. "Merry Christmas, Winry."

Winry ran forward and hugged his neck. "Al, I can't believe it's you!" She backed up. "So, your teacher really let you come home for Christmas?"

Al looked down. "Well, it's not that, exactly." He looked back up, grinning. "I finished my training!"

"That's wonderful! I'm proud of you, Al! Oh, hang on. Granny!" Winry raced back into the kitchen. "Granny! Al's here."

Left alone, Rose couldn't help staring at Al. He had gotten taller, and now that he was shedding his coat, she thought she detected some muscle under his black shirt. His hir had grown out, almost longer than the length she remembered Ed's at, but his eyes hadn't changed from when she'd last seen him all those months ago, so wide and innocent. They were still the eyes of the five-year-old boy in the picture.

"Rose?" He had a curious look on his face, and a slight blush on his cheeks.

"Sorry, it's just...you've grown up a lot since I last saw you, Al."

"Oh, thanks." The blush deepened and he looked at the floor. He looked back up. "Didn't you have a baby...?"

It was Rose's turn to look at the floor. "He...he got sick and passed away."

Al's eyes widened. "I'm sorry, I had no idea." Then his arms wrapped around her.

"I-it's okay." Rose blinked back her tears. "You didn't know."

"Well, I'll be. Merry Christmas, Alphonse." Pinako's cheerful greeting effectively shattered the somber mood.

Later, after a filling dinner over which Alphonse had told them all stories about his training and his absolutely terrifying(in Rose's opinion, anyway) teacher, Rose layed in the guest room, trying to sleep but unable. Al's innocent comment had sparked memories she had been trying to bury.

Her baby, her little Edward, after that night where the woman she had known as Lyra had tried to use him to transmute what she called The Gate. So pale, so weak, so feverish. Constantly fussing. The moment he had stopped crying, she had known he was gone. A sob ripped itself from her throat, then another, and another. She buried her head in her pillow in an attempt to muffle it.

A knock came on the door, and she jerked her head up and around. "Wh-who's there?"

"Rose?" Al's oice was muffled by the door slightly. "Is something wrong? I heard crying..."

"Oh, no, nothing. Rose wiped her eyes hurriedly.

The doorknob turned, and then Al was coming in. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Positive."

Al came closer, narrowing his eyes. "You've been crying."

Rose shook her head furiously. "No, I-"

"Rose. Don't lie." He sat beside her, brushing the tears way with his thumbs. "It's because of what I said earlier, isn't it? About..."

Rose looked down. "I just...I miss him so much. I've been running from the memories for so long." She sniffed. "I named him Edward. I would have named him Al, but 'Alphonse Thomas' sounds a little strange."

Al chuckled. "Yeah, it does." There was a brief pause, and then, "Hey, Rose?"

"Yeah?"

"Maybe it's not my place to say this, but...why don't you stay here, you know, permanently? Lior has a lot of bad memories for you, right? So,...why not come here and start over? You might even find someone you know, _special_, and settle down." There was something in his voice, in his manner that gave Rose hope.

"Are you hoping that someone will be you, Al?" she asked softly, leaning close to him.

He stared up into her eyes for a moment, part surprised and part fearful. And then, "I guess I am." he murmured, leaning up so that their lips connected.

When they broke the kiss for air, Rose found herself blushing. "Al..."

He smiled gently, hugging her. "Welcome home, Rose." He whispered in her ear.

"Thank you. Welcome home to you, too." They kissed again

And for the first time since she had met the brothers two years ago, Rose was really, truly happy.

**AN: Good God, what is with me and all this angst? Hopefully the next one will be slightly better. Oh, and yes, you definitely expect more Al pairings because he's my favorite. Review please!**


	17. AlxNoa: Golden Memories

**Countdown to Christmas**

**Lady Moon-Chan**

**AN: Another Al fic. This time with alter!Rose, also known as Noa. Have fun, kiddies! As I said last time, I own neither Christmas nor FMA. Go on, you know you want to see whether or not this one is angsty.**

**AlxNoa: Golden Memories**

Noa stared curiously at her reflection in the small globe of red-painted glass. "What is all this for, Al?"

"Christmas!" The younger Elric brother chirped, wrapping a strand of tinsel around the tree. He then stepped back to admire the effect. "What do you think?" he asked Noa, gesturing to the tree. He blinked when he saw her wide eyes and clueless face. "What?"

"Christmas?" Noa asked, tilting her head to one side.

"You're kidding me! You've never celebrated Christmas?" Al asked.

Noa shook her head. "I've never even heard of it, really."

Al looked deep in thought. "Well...it's mostly a celebration of the birth of Christ."

"Christ?"

"The prophesied messiah of the Christian faith. They say he was born to the Virgin Mary at midnight on Christmas Eve a little over a thousand years ago."

"So, then, if it's simply the birthday of a man who lived and died centuries ago, why is there so much fuss and such a big celebration?"

Al blinked again. "Well, because he did great things for the people of his time. He healed the sick, cured the blind, fed the hungry...all were equal in his eyes, and deserving of love. He even gave his life so that his people would be cleansed of sin in the eyes of their god."

"What do you mean, 'their god'? Don't you believe? Isn't that why you celebrate?" Noa asked, her eyes widening in surprise.

Al smiled sadly. "Not really. If there is a God, I'm sure he's long since forsaken Brother and I. _Our_ sin...is inerasable." He turned back to decorating the tree, and Noa frowned.

What sin? The question nagged at her mind yet again, because neither brother would explain in detail what their 'sin' was. All she really knew for sure was that it was connected to Ed's missing limbs and Al's bouts of memory loss.

Noa shook her head and reached into one of the boxes of ornaments Al had dragged up from who-knows-where, picking out a golden sphere framework with a golden bell inside it. She stuck the hook around the nearest branch she could reach, and Al glanced over in surprise.

"If you want to help, you could've just asked." He chuckled.

Noa smiled slightly. "Well, it's not fair to make you do _all_the work." She lifted a red glass ball and hung it on the tree not far from the gold one.

"You know, the balls are a bit boring." Al said. "Let's dig through here and see what else there is that we can use."

"Alright." So they sat and began to ding through the box and pile up any of the decorations they thought were interesting looking.

Noa glanced up and observed the younger teen for a moment. "Al, if you're not Christian, and you don't believe the stories about the Christ, then, why do you celebrate Christmas?"

Al looked up. "I guess because...over the centuries, Christmas has become a special time to share with family and friends, and it means I get to spend time with Brother that we both would normally spend working."

"That makes sense." Noa murmured. It stung a little that he hadn't mentioned spending time with her, but then again, _she_ was the one who had helped the Thules gain access to his world. She hadn't given him very much reason to want to spend time with her. It was probably silly to hope he would want to. He was such a nice boy, he must have a girlfriend living nearby who took up what little tim e outside of work he had.

Ed chose that moment to burst in, returning from the shopping errands All had sent him on. "It took me a while," he said, shrugging out of his coat(Al dropped the Christmas balls and went over to retriever it and hang it up). "but I tracked down everything on the list you gave me. Popcorn strings, stockings, wrapping paper, ribbons, bows, even mistletoe."

"Mistletoe?" Noa asked.

Ed withdrew a green-and-white sprig from one of his shopping bags and advanced on Noa, shaking it over her head. "Yeah, mistletoe. When two people meet under it they have to..."

"What? What?" Noa asked, her imagination running wild with the possibilities.

"Kiss." Ed smirked cattily.

Noa backed away, blushing madly. That was the one possibility she hadn't thought of while imagining all the possible uses for mistletoe.

"Brother, stop teasing her." Al sounded indignant. A little more than necessary, if Ed was truly only playing around.

"Who' teasing?" Ed asked with a shrug before refocusing his gaze on Noa. The smirk returned. "Come on, Noa. Pucker up."

Noa grew even redder and shook her head wordlessly, burying her face in her hands.

Ed came closer to where she sat and kneeled down, still grinning like the cat that got the canary. "Why not? Am I not attractive enough for you?"

Noa squeaked and shook her head frantically, sending her braids flying. "Th-that's not it..."

"Then what _is_ it, Noa?" Ed purred, cupping her chin in his false hand and tilting her face up toward his, all the while holding that sprig of mistletoe over their heads.

"That's enough, Brother, Al pushed his brother away from Noa, scowling.

Ed didn't stop grinning and instead waved the mistletoe around. "Look at that. Now you've got your chance, Al."

"What?" Noa turned to look at Al in shock. "Chance for what?"

Al scowled at his brother, who only grinned wider and shook the mistletoe in response. "Go on, little brother. You know you want to."

Al sighed and turned to Noa, cupping her chin and guiding her lips to his in a slow, sweet kiss.

When it was over, both of them were blushing furiously.

"Al?" Noa questioned.

"M-merry Christmas..." Al stammered, leaning in to kiss her again.

Noa knew then that no matter how far their differing roads might take her from the Elric brothers, she would always be able to look back on this Christmas and the memories she made now, and they would be far more valuable than any gold or riches she ever acquired.

**AN: All done. Whew. I'll have to upload the rest tomorrow, on Christmas Day. Think I can do it? Review and tell me what you thought of this one, minna-san! Ja!**


	18. HeixOC: Christmas Lovin'

**Countdown to Christmas**

**Lady Moon-Chan**

**AN: Sorry it's taken me so long, but this particular ficlet, which started out as Al and Martel, was giving me so much trouble that I had to change the pairing to what it is. Disclaimer: I don't own any of this. 'Cept Richard. She is mine. Notes: Pre-movie Christmas. So, yeah. And also, this gets an up in rating, to about PG-13.**

**HeixOC: Christmas Lovin'**

Heiderich entered his flat and immediately heard rustling noises from the living room area. Edward had gone out, so...

Before he could even call out, a brown and red blur came rushing out of the living room and hugged his neck. "Merry Christmas, Alfons!"

He laughed softly, trying to duck out of her embrace to put his groceries down and take off his coat. "Merry Christmas, Richard."

Richard pouted. "Oh, come on. 'Richard'?"

"Richie." He corrected himself. "Merry Christmas, Richie."

She smiled, her brown eyes lighting up. "Much better. Now, come on and let me show you some of the decorations I put on the tree." She tugged on his hand to get him to enter the living room with her.

He chuckled at her child-like enthusiasm. "They're great, Richie. But..what about your family? Don't you want to spend Christmas Day with them instead of us?"

Richard looked down. "What family? The only people in that house I consider family are Elise and Tina."

Alfons hugged her from behind. "I'm sorry. I know it's a sore subject." A few moments of silence reigned, and then, "Hey, why don't you invite your sisters to come over here on Christmas Day? From what you've said, nothing's going to be happening at your house."

Richard whirled, looking up at him with wide, hopeful eyes. "Can I?"

Alfons nodded.

Richard kissed him deeply. "Thank you, Alfons. Thank you so much."

"No problem. I'd like to meet them, anyway. They sound...interesting." He shrugged.

Richard smiled, resting her head on his shoulder. "I think they'd like meeting you, too."

Alfons' hand rose to pet her hair. "I can't wait." He assured her. "Oh, and, you look really nice." Now that they were finally still, He could see the long red dress she wore, Christmas themed with white fur trimming on the high collar, long sleeves, and hem.

"Thanks." She stepped away from him and twirled so that he could see it on her from all angles. "It took me forever to save up for this velvet and fur."

His eyebrows rose. "You didn't buy the whole dress?"

She shook her head, grinning. "Elise helped me make it, once I told her the kind of design I had in mind. She's good at that sort of thing."

"I guess so. I'd never have thought that was handmade if you hadn't told me so." He hugged her again. "You should wear dresses more often."

That elicited a snort from her. "Right. And have the Pig and the Wolf paw me up even more than normal."

He tensed. "What do you mean 'paw you up'?"

She backed out of his embrace. "I shouldn't have said that." She edged toward the front door.

He clapped his hands on her shoulders to prevent her from going yet. "Richie...tell me. Please. I need to know."

She shook her head, breaking away. "I'm sorry, I have to go." She fled his apartment, and he followed, determined not to let her go without getting a proper answer.

He chased her through what had to be every backstreet and side-alley in the city of Munich, until finally his lungs had had enough and he nearly doubled up coughing. Through his watering eyes, Alfons saw Richard stop and stare at him, before tears came to her eyes and she turned away again, running on.

Alfons had no choice but to return to his flat without her. He sagged the closest armchair to the door with a small sigh. "Damnit..."

"Hey, Alfons." Edward greeted, coming over and sitting on the arm of the chair. "I noticed the decorations all out. Was Richard over?"

"Yes, but she just left."

"Why? What happened? You guys have a fight or something?" Edward tilted his head to one side in curiosity.

"She was all dressed up, and I told her she should dress up more often. She told me if she did, 'the wolf and the pig' would paw her up even more than they already did."

"The pig and the wolf?"

"Her uncles. She lives with them. It bothers me, Ed. She wouldn't tell me what she meant by that, and then she ran off." He looked down. "I can't bear to think of the possible meanings..."

* * *

For the next two days until Christmas Eve, Alfons didn't see hide or hair of Richard. Calls to her house went unanswered, and when he had stopped in at the restaurant where she worked to ask about her, he'd been told she hadn't come in, even to pick up her Christmas bonus. Her younger sister Tina had come to pick it up for her instead.

And now, Alfons was pacing. "Where is she, damnit? Even if she WAS really mad at me, she'd have at least called by now, if only to say 'Merry Christmas'..."

"Don't worry, Alfons. She'll show up." Edward said, rising and making the other male take a seat. "You know she will."

Alfons nodded, staring broodingly into the fire. He remained that way for hours, until a frantic knock sounded on the door. He was up and to the door as quickly as he could move, and when he pulled it open, it was to the sight of a tearful Richard holding a suitcase. Her eyes were red as though she'd been crying for some time, and there was an angry bruise forming on her cheek, as well as what looked suspiciously like finger marks on her neck.

"Richie! What happened?" he asked as he ushered her inside.

"That fucking Wolf." She hissed, scrubbing at her eyes. "He had too much eggnog and tried to get a little action for Christmas. I told him no, and he went nuts. He punched me in the face, and he even started strangling me..." she sniffled. "If Elise hadn't pulled him off and helped me get out of there, I...I..." Her eyes started to tear up again, and Alfons pulled her close.

"Ssh, ssh. It's okay." He stroked her hair. "You're safe now."

Richard clung to him. "I-I'm sorry. Really. All three of us are leaving now, after this...Granny's a tough old lady, she can take care of herself until we find someplace better. Elise is bringing Tina over here tomorrow, and we'll have to stay here for the holiday, but after that, we'll find someplace else, even if it's a hotel." She looked up, clutching onto his sleeves desperately. "Alfons, please-"

He shushed her with a kiss. "You three can stay here for as long as you need. It'll be a little tight, but we'll manage."

She gave him a watery smile. "Thanks. You're a life saver." Her arms wrapped around his neck, dropping her suitcase, and she leaned into him. "I don't know what I'd do without you, now..."

He hugged her back fiercely, and then pulled away. "Here, let's get you settled in." He picked up the suitcase and headed for the two bedrooms the apartment contained. As they passed Edward, he rose, following to help in any way he could.

* * *

The next day, Richard's sisters were over bright and early. Richard enclosed herself in the kitchen with her elder sister, the tall, blonde Elise, with strict orders for both Alfons and Edward to stay out on pain of castration.

Tina had spotted the old upright piano in one corner of the flat and made herself at home, tinkling out Christmas carols and also singing them as loud as she could, with Edward occasionally chiming in when he found the words and tune familiar.

Alfons, for his part, could only sit back and watch it all with a smile. It felt right to have so much activity going on, and especially at Christmas.

At last Richard and Elise emerged from the kitchen, each bearing platters of food. "Alright, places! Dinner is served!" Richard called, nodding toward the table.

Edward raced over, sending Tina, who was right behind him, into peals of laughter. Alfons merely chuckled quietly as he followed them, used to Edward's food mania by now.

Later that night, everyone in the house had been settled in for the night. Tina slept in Edward's bed, and he slept in a thick pile of blankets on the living room floor in front of the fireplace, while Elise slept on the couch. And Richard, of course, shared Alfons's room.

He lay awake in bed, sleep refusing to come to him. He remained silent, certain that Richard was already asleep.

"Alfons?" She whispered, and he felt her breath against her neck.

"Yes, what is it?" He murmured back.

"Thank you. You have no idea how much of a help you've been to us."

"It's no problem. I love you."

She looked up at him in shock. "You mean that? You really do?"

"I really do. I love you." His hand reached up to caress her cheek. "I love you, and I don't want you to ever have to go back to that dump again." He took her hands, kissing them. "Marry me, Richard."

Her eyes widened. "Marry you?"

He nodded. "I don't want to see you hurting like you were tonight ever again. Let me protect you. _I love you_."

Richard's eyes widened, beginning to brim with tears of joy, which she promptly wiped away and replaced with a brilliant smile. "Yes. Yes, I'll marry you."

Alfons smiled, pulling her close and drifting off to sleep.

"I love you too." Richard murmured, before drifting off to sleep as well, already dreaming of her future as Mrs. Alfons Heiderich.

**AN: So sweet, but, le gasp! Tis not meant to be!!!! Yeah, don't ask. I'm in an incredibly weird mood right now.**


	19. EdxNoa: Coming Home

**Countdown to Christmas**

**Lady Moon-Chan   
**

**AN: And, here's the next one on our list: Ed and Noa! Because it takes a dimension hopping alchemist to give a random psychic gypsy a home for the holidays. Disclaimer: Nope, nothing mine. As it has always been. As it will always be. **

**EdxNoa: Coming Home**

Noa had been noticing the Elric brothers behaving strangely around her as December progressed. Alphonse had begun to randomly engage her in long conversations that were often about absolutely nothing at all, and Edward was all but invisible when it came to her. He would be gone for hours at a time and never say a word about where he had been upon his return.

And when he did say anything, it was mostly to his brother. Noa was lucky to get even a passing glance nowadays. And it stung. It stung bitterly.

Both brothers had assured her time and again that they did not harbor any remaining anger towards her for the "Thule incident". Alphonse had even told her that he understood, that he had only opened the Gate from his world's side because he wanted his brother back, without even considering the consequences of his actions, or the state of things on the other side.

So why was Edward being so distant? If it wasn't anger that kept him from talking to her or really even looking at her(Alphonse was quick to assure her it wasn't whenever she brought it up), then what was it? Noa constantly tried and failed to either follow Edward or track down where he had been using her gift, but he would never allow her contact long enough for her to get more than a few jumbled flashes.

Finally, on the twenty-fourth of December, Noa snapped. She crept into Edward's room and did the one thing she had sworn she would never do again: she looked into Edward's dreams. At first it was the usual jumbled flashes and memories of his homeland of Amestris, then she saw, to her surprise, she saw a small cottage in the rural hills and valleys somewhere in the German countryside. A small, red brick building with a white picket fence out front, all manner of flowers in both the front and back yards. His mind zoomed in on the house, and Noa could see Edward himself sitting at the dining room table, talking with Alphonse, and she could hear a woman's soft singing and children laughing in the background.

One particular child who looked exceptionally like Edward ran up and crawled into his lap. Edward smiled and ruffled the little girl's hair, and the woman in the kitchen made her way over. All Noa caught a glimpse of were her walking feet before the vision began to fade, and Edward began to stir beneath her. He was waking up.

Noa quickly climbed off him, but she was unable to make it to the door before he was completely awake.

"Noa, what are you doing in here?" He demanded sharply. His voice was only soft still for the sake of Alphonse, who was asleep in the next room.

"I...I...I..." What could she possibly say as an excuse? There was only one reason for her to be in his bedroom so late at night, and they both knew it.

Golden eyes narrowed. "You were looking into my mind while I was asleep again."

Noa looked at the floor, unable to meet his gaze. It was true.

"Well, what did you see? Anything interesting?" He hissed, all out glaring now.

"I saw that you're dreaming of a future without me." Noa said quietly, meeting his gaze once again. "You were living out in the countryside with your brother and a wife and children, and I was nowhere in sight." It was her turn to glare. "There are easier ways to get rid of me, you know, besides ignoring me and hoping I'll go away of my own accord."

The anger had faded from Edward's face. "That's what you think it was?"

Noa looked down sadly. "What else could it be? Al tells me you're not mad, but...why else would you be ignoring me so much if you weren't?"

Suddenly, she was looking into his golden eyes with only an inch or two of distance separating them. "I'm sorry that's what I made you think. It isn't like that at all, I promise. It's just...I've been arranging a surprise for you for Christmas, that's all."

"What kind of surprise?"

Edward smirked. "Now, Noa. That would be telling." And then he leaned in and kissed her. When they parted, he smiled kindly. "Goodnight, Noa. Get some sleep."

The next day, Edward and Alphonse woke her up especially early, and the three bundled up against the winter weather. Then Edward called for a wagon, which took them out of Munich and far out into the hills of the surrounding countryside.

Finally it came to a halt before the cottage from Noa's vision, and she looked over at Edward in shock. He gave a shrug and a half-smile, leading her through the front gate, up the walkway, and into the house. It was cozy, and already furnished. Noa recognized some of the furniture as having gone missing from their Munich flat. The brothers smiled at her.

"Welcome home, Noa!" The brothers caroled, and hugged her from both sides. She felt Edward's lips graze her cheek. As Alphonse led them on the grand tour of the house, Noa glanced over at Edward.

He caught her gaze and returned it with questioning golden eyes.

"So, if this place is for the three of us...that woman I saw...who you'd had children with...that was...?" She trailed off, pointing to herself.

Edward smiled slightly and nodded, leaning over to kiss her again before running to catch up to Alphonse so that she could have a little time "alone" to adjust, both to the house, and to the ring he'd somehow managed to slip onto her finger while they were kissing.

Noa admired it, then looked at her surroundings, smiling softly. They were out in the country with no one around for miles. The brothers would still have to go into the city to work, but Noa did not, so she was free to stay here, where the only people around didn't care one bit that she was a Roma.

But it was a pretty big cottage, Noa noted as she looked around. Much bigger than it had looked in Edward's dream. Staying here all by herself day in and day out would get lonely fast. Well, she thought as she caught up to Edward and intertwined her hand with his, best to fill the house with children as quickly as possible.

She was finally home.

**AN: There's number nineteen. Only five or six more to go! Review please.**


	20. Elricest 2: Unwrapping

**Countdown to Christmas**

**Lady Moon-Chan**

**AN: Here is number twenty, at long last. The second Elricest shot! Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no profit from this work. Shazam. Notes: Sequel to Snow Angel. Rated about PG-15. So, go on. You know you want to see. **

**Elricest 2: Unwrapping**

Edward looked over as Alphonse as the younger boy fiddled with his present from Gracia, which he had only found today, the day after Christmas. "Aren't you going to unwrap it, Al?" He settled next to his little brother, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

Alphonse smiled at his big brother, resting his head on Edward's shoulders briefly. Then he turned back to the present, unwrapping it slowly and carefully, to reveal more plates for the camera Maes had gotten him. He smiled and set them off to the side, then turned and threw his arms around Edward.

Edward returned the gesture with a roll of the eyes. "What are you doing? They weren't from me..."

Alphonse looked up at him and smiled. "I know. This isn't about the photo plates."

"Then what is it about?" Edward asked with a small grin.

Alphonse's only answer was to close the distance between himself and his brother with a chaste kiss. Edward pulled him just a bit closer and deepened the kiss, causing Alphonse to blush deeply.

When they parted for air, Edward half-dragged the younger boy up and escorted him to their bedroom, then settled him down on the bed.

They kissed deeply again, and Edward began to undo the buttons on the shirt Alphonse wore, undoing the last one just as they broke the kiss for air.

"B-brother?" Alphonse was blushing madly. "What are you-"

"I'm unwrapping MY present." Edward began to nip and kiss his brother's neck. "Why? Should I leave it a bit longer, you think?" His hands opened the shirt and began to explore Alphonse's chest, just grazing his nipples.

Alphonse gasped, arching into his brother's hands. "B-brother..."

Edward leaned down to kiss him again. "Hmmm?"

Alphonse suddenly gave him a sultry look. "_I_ have a present left to unwrap too..." His hands, which had been resting on Edward's shoulders, slid down and began to undo his shirt as well.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" He lowered his lips to Al's chest, kissing his way to the younger boy's nipples. Then he looked up, worry showing in his eyes. "Al, are you sure? Once we've done this, there's no going back..."

Alphonse nodded. "I'm sure. I love you, Ed, and I trust you." He wrapped his arms around his elder brother tightly, blushing deeply.

Edward brought a hand to Alphonse's cheek, scooting up so that he was on eye level with the other boy. "Alright, Al. If you're sure.

Alphonse nodded, pulling his brother's ponytail loose and running his fingers through the spun gold. "I love you."

Edward kissed him hungrily. "I love you too."

After about an hour and many experiments and positions, Edward Elric lay down beside his younger brother.

Alphonse snuggled close to his brother, and Edward's arms wrapped around him securely.

"Brother..." Alphonse murmured.

"Uh huh?"

"This was the best Christmas ever." Alphonse murmured before drifting off to sleep.

Edward smiled down at him. "It's not even Christmas anymore, you dolt." He whispered affectionately, before he too drifted off to sleep.

**AN: There we go. Very short, but hey. Snow Angels did most of the work. This was just them getting their thang on. Review please.**


	21. AlxAl 3: Snow Family

**Countdown to Christmas**

**Lady Moon-Chan.**

**AN: The third and final part to the trilogy that began with Garland Bondage: Snow Family. Enjoy it, minna. Disclaimer: Nothing has changed sine last chapter. I'm still nothing but a broke otaku. **

**AlxAl 3: Snow Family**

It was Christmas Eve, only three short days since the night when Edward had learned of the relationship between his brother and Alfons Heiderich. Three days since Al had nearly fallen into a raging river after a fight with Ed over said relationship. If not for Alfons's presence, Al wouldn't have come to safety. Edward would have lost his little brother.

So he had accepted their relationship. It was reassuring to know that someone would watch out for Al when the younger Elric was unwilling to let Edward do so. Now, he entered the living room to see that the couple were already up, well, halfway anyway.

Al was still half-asleep, wrapped up in a blanket in front of the fireplace, where a fire was already burning strong, and Alfons was in the kitchen, preparing breakfast.

"Morning." Edward greeted.

"Morning." Alfons replied, turning away from his cooking just briefly enough to greet him.

Al merely mumbled something nonsensical from his cocoon of blankets.

Edward settled beside his little brother on a spare corner of blanket and ruffled his hair in greeting.

Al mumbled something else before promptly using his brother as a pillow, snuggling deeper into his blanket, and falling back to sleep entirely.

Edward put an arm around his brother and addressed Alfons as he entered the room. "Looks like the storm from last night is completely cleared out."

"Good riddance." Alfons muttered, lowering the tray he was carrying in front of the brothers and taking a seat on Al's other side. "If I never go through another blizzard in my life it will be too soon."

"I hear you." Ed murmured, taking a sip of coffee and giving a small moan of a appreciation at the sudden rush of caffeine. "Unfortunately, Al will be wanting to play in it later. And we will most likely get dragged out there with him."

Alfons shot him a look of horror over Al's head. "Are you sure?"

"I speak from experience, my friend." Edward said gravely, bowing his head.

Alfons gave a small shudder, then sighed. "And we'll go, of course."

"Naturally." Edward nodded. "He's got me wrapped around one of his little fingers and you around the other."

Alfons nodded in agreement, beginning on his coffee as well.

After Al had woken up, the first thing he wanted to do, as Edward predicted, was go play in the snow. Alfons managed to detour his thoughts briefly by placing the boy's reheated breakfast in front of him, but after that it was back to the snow.

After trying in vain for half an hour to convince Al to pursue an indoors activity, the other two males resigned themselves to being cold and not properly dry for the rest of the day. So they bundled up and followed Al outside and into the snow.

Al first insisted on making snow angels. Once that was done, he instigated a free-for-all snowball fight where they were all on separate sides. Sometimes two would team up against the other one, like Edward and Alfons "punishing" Al for dragging them out in the sow. But then, Edward threw a snowball at the back of Alfons's head and the alliance ended.

Al eventually got bored of the snowball fight and wandered off to do something else. His brother and lover, however, continued, now "fighting for Al's affections". Al was to preoccupied in his new pursuit to notice this, or he would have laughed.

In the midst of the snowball fight, Edward looked around for l and didn't see him. "Alfons, I don't see Al."

Alfons walked over to the spot where Al had been, which now held three incomplete snowmen. "Probably to find the materials to finish these guys."

Edward followed. "Yeah, but where-" He was cut off by a whistling sound from above and looked up to see Al leaning out their apartment window, waving. He then disappeared back inside, and rejoined his brother and lover a moment later, with an armful of material for completing his snowmen, as Alfons had predicted.

Al set his materials down, making faces for the snowmen out of little bits of coal and carrots. Then he began to decorate them with personal items of all three boys, mainly, scarves other than the ones they were wearing. The snowman in the middle got Al's scarf, the slightly shorter one on his right got Edward's, and the taller one on his left got Alfons's.

"A snow family?" Alfons queried, wrapping his arms around Al from behind.

"_Our_ family." Al corrected, leaning into his embrace.

Edward gagged. Al and Alfons both looked affronted, and then shared a look which did not bode well for Edward at all.

"Shall we?" Alfons asked.

"Yeah." Al agreed.

"GET HIM!!!" They ran at Edward, pummeling him with snowballs, with no intentions of stopping for quite a while.

At least until Edward admitted Al's 'snow family' was just as sweet as it was sappy.

**AN: Whoo! It's fluffy and sweet and still a decent length. Review and tell me what you thought, please. Ja ne!!!**


	22. AlxEdxAl: All I Want For Christmas

**Countdown to Christmas**

**Lady Moon-Chan**

**AN: Here's number 22! A fusion of Elricest, HeixEd, and AlxAl. Can we say 'threesome'? Disclaimer: If I owned Fullmetal Alchemist, these would not be mere fanfiction one shots. Now, go on and read. (nudge nudge)**

**AlxEdxAl: All I Want For Christmas**

Edward has a problem. A BIG problem. In an age where homosexuality is highly persecuted and regarded as utter sin, he has fallen hard for both of his male roommates, one of which is his little BROTHER. He would give anything to be able to tell them both, but not only would they most likely forsake him out of disgust, even if they DIDN'T, even if they accepted and returned his feelings, if the relationship were discovered, all three of them would die. Edward doesn't feel like condemning himself, his brother, and one of his best friends to death because of his libido.

Actually, Edward wonders whether his brother and Alfons might already be in a relationship. They have spent a lot of time together since Edward and Alphonse arrived in Munich, and they're only spending more time together as Christmas rolls around. Edward would like to ask, but what if that's not the case? What if it's just because they are alters, and they want to see how much they have in common as such? So Edward keeps his mouth shut.

Then comes the day when they send Edward out, and they stay home. Alfons smiles innocently and hands him a shopping list full of items Edward is fairly certain they already have, and he realizes they are trying to get rid of him for a while, either to have some alone time at home, or to arrange some kind of surprise they have in store for him. Edward goes out "shopping", and returns two hours later.

As he walks up the steps, he can hear soft music coming from somewhere, and he feels a strange sense of anticipation as he approaches the apartment he shares with his brother and Alfons. He unlocks the door and steps into darkness. "Uh...hello?"

The lights flick on, and Al stands beside him, dressed as a reindeer. "Al?"

Al smiles innocently and takes Edward's hand leading him to the bedroom, where Alfons sits on the bed in full Santa Claus regalia, minus beard. "Okay, what the hell?"

"Come sit in Santa's lap, Edward." Alfons pats his knees.

"Say again?"

Al speaks this time. "Go sit in Santa's lap, Brother." He gives Edward a light shove. When Edward remains motionless with shock, Al gives him a harder shove that nearly bowls him over.

"Alright. I'm going, I'm going." Edward grumbles, walking over and climbing into Alfons's lap like they want him to.

"Tell Santa what you want for Christmas, Ed." Alfons says now.

Edward colors. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Oh, come on, Ed. Play along." The puppy eyes are exactly the same as Als, only blue instead of brown.

Edward sighs. "Fine. I want a red tricycle, a storybook, a little drum, you two-" He freezes.

Alfons exchanges a look with Al over his shoulder. "The two of us? That can be arranged..." Alfons says, leaning down and kissing Edward.

It feels amazingly good, better than in any fantasy Edward has ever had, but...no! No! This is wrong! They can't! They can't!

Edward breaks the kiss and tries to shove Alfons away. He actually breaks free of the taller boy's arms and tries to flee the room, only to be stopped by Al.

"This isn't fair, Brother." Al murmurs, trapping Edward against a wall. "We've both been waiting for this for so long, and you're trying to run away still."

"We love you and want you, and we know you feel the same." Alfons adds, helping Al block Edward's escape route.

"Huh? But how-" Al shushes him with a kiss.

"Really, Brother. Since _when_ could you hide anything from_me_?"

Edward looks down. "Look, guys, you don't have to humor me-"

Alfons cuts him off this time. "We're not, Ed. If everything we felt for you wasn't one hundred percent real, we wouldn't be doing this." His arms encircle Edward, pulling him close.

Edward looks at them both in awe. "And you really don't care what'll happen...if anyone else finds out that we're..."

"No one else will find out." Al assures him, taking his long blonde hair down from it's ponytail and running his fingers through it.

"It'll be our secret." Alfons agrees, leaning down slightly to kiss the golden strands.

Edward wants to give in. Wants it so bad he ca taste it, but..."But...you guys deserve-"

"We don't want normal lives, Edward." Alfons sighs. "We want_you_."

Al turns Edward's head to face him, planting a kiss on his lips. "Now be quiet, Brother, and let us love you."

Edward caves. "But...ditch the costumes first. It's my brother and his alter I want, not Santa and his reindeer.

They oblige quickly, and Edward turns red when he sees that there is nothing underneath the costumes.

**AN: Well, there it is. Weird format, but then, this was written at six in the morning, so...Review please!**


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